Crimson Guardian
by ShanaAlvarado29
Summary: Seto Henderson is young, strong, courageous, influential; he is the future Earl of Cornwell. After an assassination attempt leaves him heavily scarred, Seto has developed a hatred for women. When a young Danish boy comes to live at the Wellingshire manor, bringing a mysterious young woman with him, will she be able to teach Seto how to trust again? Fem!Yami Prideshipping AU
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters from the anime. I do own Yami's name, perhaps a few OCs, the plot, and the Wellingshire Manor. **

**A/N: Hey everybody, surprise new fanfic coming right up! lol This is going to be a bit out of my normal range of expertise. This story takes place somewhere between 1420 -1559, haven't decided yet HOWEVER, this means I will be trying to keep with the proper speech and things of that sort. **

**WARNING! This is a Fem!Yami Prideshipping story, and so if you do not like, don't read. I wanted to write this story because Yami as a woman would create a more interesting outcome, since Seto despises women, and for good reason. Yami will have a different name, since I like to give my characters some mixed names and settings and such. Anyway, that's it for now. Read, enjoy, and review!**

* * *

**Prologue**

The torrential thunderstorm that pierced the bitter cold night was not enough to drown out the continuous screaming of a woman caught in the throes of excruciating agony. Those screams soon faded, however, being replaced by the small, high-pitched mewling cries of a newborn child.

Kisara Henderson lay against a pile of pillows that helped her to lounge as comfortably as possible upon her bed, looking exhausted and sweat-soaked, wanting nothing more than to fall asleep but would not allow herself that luxury as she watched the Elder midwife, Cecelia cut the umbilical cord and wash the blood from the body of her newborn babe.

"You have a son, Lady Henderson." Cecelia announced happily as she wrapped the babe, snug in a warm blanket and carefully placed the boy into his mother's arms.

Kisara gazed down into the slumbering face of her child, an adoring smile was plastered hopelessly across her lips. Oh, he was perfect!

"I shall go fetch your husband." Cecelia said before quitting the room.

A moment later, a tall, lean man came hurrying into the bedchamber. He was soaked to the bone from having ridden through the storm in order to arrive on time for the birthing of their first child.

"Come Seth, meet your son." Kisara entreated, and Seth needn't be told twice.

He carefully lowered himself down onto the edge of the bed and stared at the sight before him.

His young wife appeared so frail and delicate, her extreme white-blonde hair laid out beneath her, her bangs clinging to her face from the sweat on her brow, her already pale porcelain skin seemed a shade paler; she had never been more beautiful. Her face lit up from the afterglow of birth, her lovely bright oceanic blue eyes shining with unadulterated joy. In her arms lay their small child.

He had his mother's porcelain skin tone, although it would most likely grow darker as he aged, and the tuft of springy chestnut curls upon the babe's head was an exact match to his father's. As they watched, their son began to open his eyes, to show a pair of brilliant cerulean eyes; darker than his mother's but a little lighter than his father's navy blue eyes.

"What should we call him?" Seth inquired, never once taking his eyes off of his son.

"Seto." Kisara replied without hesitation.

Seth lifted his eyes up to meet his wife's and a wide smile broke out across his face. He reached out and cupped the boy's head in his hand in a gentle caress that seemed to sooth the boy. Wrapped in his mother's arms, his head cradled in his father's palm, there could never have been a more protected child ever born.

* * *

On a separate stormy night, a little over a year later, Kisara hunched her shoulders against the brutal winds as well as to shelter the small boy wrapped tightly in her arms as she made her way up the main street of London. She was cold, wet, and tired, only sheer desperation kept her going.

* * *

"Please stop moving so much, Master Mokuba." A damp, disheveled young woman in a servant's garb pleaded fruitlessly with the squirming toddler in the bathtub. Mokuba giggled happily at his handler's obvious distress before he splashed water directly into the woman's face.

"Mokuba, settle."

Miraculously, the small boy began to calm down long enough for the maid to finish his bath. The maid wrapped the toddler in a towel and pulled him out of the tub before turning to offer an appreciative smile toward the tall, young nobleman standing in the doorway to the kitchen, "Thank you, My Lord."

Baron Raphael Wellingshire smiled lightly at the maid, "I apologize for the trouble."

"Da!" Mokuba cried, holding out his arms for his father to hold him. Raphael reached for him, but before he could take her, Mahado, Wellingshire Manor's butler, appeared in the doorway, "My Lord. My Lady Henderson is waiting in the informal sitting room." He announced.

"Kisara?" Raphael took Mokuba from the young maid before he followed Mahado back toward the entrance hall of the mansion.

Kisara sat on the chaise lounge in the sitting room, rocking the small toddler in her arms to try and calm him, "Hush sweet, hush. I'll get you something to eat soon, Seto."

"Kisara." Raphael said in obvious delight to see his little sister again, and then he saw the devastation written into her delicate features, "What's happened?" He demanded.

"Seth…he was killed." Kisara replied, her voice nearly inaudible.

Raphael felt saddened by this news. He had grown up with Seth, they had been close friends even before Seth married Raphael's sister. However, Seth was a soldier, and Raphael was certain something like this would happen one day.

"I am so sorry." He offered.

"Thank you." Kisara closed her eyes to ward off the tears that began to collect behind her eyes, "I have a request. Would it be too much trouble for us to stay here?"

"Of course not. You may stay for as long as you need." Raphael replied immediately.

"Thank you."

Again she turned her attention to her son. Seto began to cry out for nourishment. It had been almost seven hours since last Kisara fed him. It seemed that the stress of losing her love had caused her milk to go dry.

"Come. I will have Isis prepare your suite, but in the meantime I'll have Serenity make a bottle for your son."

* * *

Seto and Mokuba lay on their stomachs as they doodled on pieces of blank, white parchment. Neither seemed to know what they were drawing, and neither seemed to care. They laughed as they showed each other their masterpieces, giggling and ooh-ing and ahh-ing at what the other made.

"I am going to go show mama." Seto announced as he bounded to his feet and ran from their nursery down the long, winding corridor until he reached the door that would admit him into the bedchamber that he and Kisara shared.

His joyful spirit came to an abrupt halt as he saw his mother lying across the bed with his Uncle Raphael, Aunt Vivian, Mahado, Serenity, Isis, and two strange men whom Seto had never met before.

They were speaking in low, solemn voices, the atmosphere in the room completely drowned out all sources of light in Seto's heart.

Pushing his way through the crowd, he scrambled up onto the bed and laid a small hand against Kisara's cheek to feel that she was cold and her face was slick with sweat.

"Mama?" He called silently.

His mother groaned softly before opening her eyes to gaze up at her beautiful boy. He was the spitting image of his father. Her only solace in this was that she would soon see her love again. She feared leaving her boy alone in this cruel world, but she trusted Raphael and Mahado and Isis to watch over him for her.

Tears pricked at the edges of Seto's cerulean eyes as he seemed to somehow understand what was happening. With a slight whimper, he brought his picture up for Kisara to see, "Look what I drew, mama." He said, his voice low.

"Ah, such a lovely drawing, my sweet. So talented." Kisara praised as best she could.

Seto caught a bit of what the strange men were saying to his uncle, and he swung his head around, "Mama, what are these people talking about?" He half demanded.

Kisara's eyes welled with tears, "I have to leave, sweetling."

"Where are you going that I can't go there with you?" Seto wanted to know.

"Oh, my sweet angel." Her tears began to spill down her face, "I love you so much."

"I love you too, mama." Seto replied instinctively.

"Seto." The boy turned to Isis, "Come with me." She implored.

"No, I want to stay with mama." Seto responded stubbornly.

"Sweet, go with Isis." Kisara said, "I cannot stay much longer."

"But you gotta stay." Seto protested.

Every one of the adults' hearts broke from hearing that heartbreaking statement.

"I cannot."

"Mama!" Seto cried out frustrated, but Isis grabbed him about the waist and began to try and carry him out of the room. "Mama!"

Seto struggled with all his might, but at four years old, the boy was easily overpowered by his handler. Neither Kisara nor Isis, and most likely not Raphael, wanted for Seto to see his mother die.

Seto was beyond angry as he sat sullenly against the wall outside his and Kisara's suite, locked out of the room after Isis left him outside. He did not understand, where was his mama going? And who were those strange men? Were they taking his mama away from him? Seto refused to let that happen.

The boy was startled by an abrupt cry that sounded like Isis, and Seto lunged to his feet as he heard the door being unlocked from the inside. The room slowly emptied, with Isis the first to exit, her eyes swimming and tears coursing down her face. She grabbed Seto before he could get inside the room, "Where is my mama?" He demanded.

"Seto, your mother is gone." His Uncle Raphael said as his deep blue eyes glistened with unshed tears.

"But she cannot be gone. She never came out of that room." Seto protested.

"Your mother is with your father now." Isis tried to reason with the distraught little boy.

Seto's face slackened and his eyes widened as he finally understood what had happened.

"No…" He murmured, nearly inaudible, then he said louder, "No!"

Isis enveloped Seto in a tight embrace as the boy began to sob in earnest against her shoulder, muttering under his breath, "Mama…mama, come back."

"Oh sweetheart." Isis murmured, tucking the boy's head beneath her chin as she gazed up toward the heavens, praying to God that something, anything could ease this young boy's pain.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello, and here is the next chapter of Crimson Guardian. **

**WARNING! There is a short rape scene in this chapter, so you have been warned. I hate putting my baby through this, but it is necessary for the telling of the story. Don't hate me for this. It'll all turn out well in the end, trust me. Until then, please bear with me. It's hard on me too. **

* * *

**Chapter One**

It was a difficult and heart-wrenching endeavor, but as Seto grew older, he slowly began to get over his mother's death.

At first, Seto was so angry at everything. He was bitter toward his mother for leaving him alone. After his anger, he became cold and withdrawn. He wouldn't let anyone touch him or near him; he wanted to push everyone away. He could not survive another blow like the death of his mother dealt.

Isis, Raphael, Mahado, Serenity, and Mokuba showered the boy in affection and love, no matter how difficult he became toward them. Before long, they were able to break through Seto's defenses, and Seto broke down beneath the weight of his grief. Afterward, Seto allowed himself to grieve properly, and before long Seto could finally smile again.

Mokuba had grown to see Seto as though he was his younger brother; they had become so close. Raphael treated Seto as if he were his own son. Isis, as Seto's handler, was like a second mother to Seto, and she had shown on more than one occasion that she would protect Seto even at the cost of her own life.

Seto had grown tall and handsomely. He looked very much like his father, save for his medium cerulean eyes, his most valuable asset. He had several female admirers among the London nobles, and there have been a few who had asked their fathers to petition for Seto's hand in marriage.

Seto wasn't interested in marriage just yet, and some of his possible brides irked him greatly, what with their meek demeanors and their flirtatious tendencies. Raphael refused to force Seto to do anything against his will. Although Seto was now sixteen and prime husband material, it would be Seto's decision when the time came to take a wife, and no one else. It seems that Seto was in no rush to marry.

However, it seems Seto's admirers were not solely young, meek ladies.

Lady Vivian also noticed Seto's masculine beauty. With her husband getting along in his years, and with her well within her prime, she turned her attentions toward younger, more vivacious possibilities.

* * *

Seto knew something was wrong with his aunt. He could not figure out what it was exactly, but he knew that simply being in the same room as her made him extremely uncomfortable.

Currently, Seto was sitting at the dining room table between Mokuba and his uncle as the family ate their evening supper. He had to mentally force himself to sit still as he could almost sense his aunt's doe brown eyes drilling into the top of his head.

He found that he did not have much of an appetite.

"Might I retire for the night, Uncle?" He inquired politely.

"Are you ill, my lord?" Isis asked at seeing Seto's nearly untouched plate of food.

"A little, yes." Seto replied, partially truthful.

"All right. Good night, Seto." Raphael allowed and Serenity hurried to take Seto's plate before he stood and left the room.

Fifteen minutes later, Vivian excused herself.

* * *

Seto wrung out a waterlogged cloth and scrubbed it across his face and neck. He was bare from the waist up, preparing for bed. It was a little earlier than he normally went to sleep, but he figured that perhaps fatigue was making him a tad paranoid.

He spun around when he heard his bedchamber door open to find his aunt leaning against the doorframe, and he felt immediately nauseous.

Vivian donned a sheer white nightgown that hung partially off of her shoulders to better show off her cleavage. Her hair was made into a loose braid she left laying in front of her shoulder and curved around the outside swell of her right breast. She had a sultry look in her eyes, and lust was plain to see across her features that she did not even bother to hide.

Seto barred his teeth as his anger surged, "Get out." He barked.

Vivian tsked at the boy as she slowly approached Seto, circling him like a predator who believed she had just cornered her prey.

"You are so beautiful, do you know that? So very much like your father. All that fire and passion…it had always made me hot for him. But, it was unfortunate that I never got a chance. Your mother got her claws dug into him."

"How dare you speak about my mother and father that way, you filthy harlot." Seto snarled.

"You wound me. I thought you would appreciate my offer." She rose up on her tiptoes and whispered into his ear, "I can show you so many pleasures like nothing you can even imagined."

Seto shoved Vivian away, "Leave!" He thundered.

In a flash, the seductive leer in Vivian's eyes vanished and was replaced with pure malevolence. She raised her hand and snapped her fingers. Three brutish men burst into the bedchamber and restrained Seto before he even realized what was happening.

"Unhand me!" He ordered, struggling wildly against his captors. He got one arm free and punched one man in the face. His nose shattered and he let go of Seto.

"Do not let him go." Vivian hissed.

The remaining two men started leading Seto toward a large, stuffed armchair. Seto continued fighting, but this time when Seto swung, his target ducked and his fist and forearm punched through the glass of the double doors leading to the balcony. The glass tore up his arm and the blood loss was causing Seto to feel dizzy and disoriented.

It was not difficult to place Seto into the armchair. They tied him down with a length of rope. After they stepped away from the boy, Vivian came forward with a smirk before reaching up to slip the nightgown completely off of her shoulders to let it fall to the floor to pool at her feet.

"Leave us." And her guards quickly quit the room.

Straddling Seto's hips, Vivian cupped her nephew's face between her hands, "You are mine, now," She whispered before leaning her head down to capture his lips.

When she tried to slip her tongue into his mouth, Seto bit down hard on her tongue and Vivian jerked her head back with a yelp. She slapped him hard across his cheek and glared down at him, "Stop fighting me." She commanded.

Unable to argue, Seto could not stop Vivian as she reached for the buttons on his trousers and began to undo them. She reached inside and gripped Seto's flaccid length and purred, "You are very large, even while soft."

She tried to make him harden, but despite her efforts it remained as soft as ever. Growling in frustration, Vivian gave up trying and just positioned herself over him.

Seto groaned as if in excruciating pain as Vivian impaled herself on him. His vision cleared for a moment and his rage burned colder than it ever had before as he watched Vivian take her pleasure from him. His childish innocence had been shattered completely by that one simple act.

He heard a faint click coming from the door, and to his horror, realized that somebody must have seen what was happening to him. He burned with humiliation and a hatred so foul that it seared him to the core of his soul.

Vivian was too caught up to notice Seto's hand slowly lowering until it pushed between the seat cushions of the armchair, his fingers probing methodically until his fingertips brushed across the butt of a dirk's hilt. He carefully pulled the knife into his grip before he twisted the blade to rest against the ropes that bound him. As quietly but quickly as he could, he began to saw his way through the length of rope, paying no heed to the agony of the knife ripping into the flesh of his forearms at his inability to see where he was cutting.

Vivian was nearing her climax, and just as she reached the height of pleasure, the blade finally sliced the rope apart, and Seto grabbed Vivian by her throat and threw her off of him. She half-flew through the air and crashed into one of the rear posters on Seto's canopy bed.

Crying out in pain, she did not see Seto coming until he had her by the throat again, with the knife positioned to draw a line across her throat.

Vivian quickly snapped her fingers again, and this time when the three men who had tied Seto up came charging into the bedchamber, each one wielded a crossbow aimed right at Seto.

Seto maneuvered Vivian until he was shielding himself with her nude body, "Do not move a muscle." He snarled venomously, his dirk's blade digging harshly into the soft flesh of Vivian's throat, "Whether you shoot me or not, this harlot is carrion."

Vivian's chest rose and fell in rapid succession as panic set in. She started to sweat all over and her mind raced with possibilities of how to get herself out of this mess alive.

"What are you waiting for? Shoot him!" She screamed. While the first guard loosed his quarrel, Seto threw Vivian toward them and the quarrel buried deep into Vivian's abdomen.

Momentarily distracted at what they had done, Seto took the opportunity to spin and he rushed for the balcony. His body crashed clear through the glass and he readied himself to jump toward the nearby sycamore tree when the final two quarrels were loosed and hit their mark. The first arrow hit Seto in the shoulder; thankfully he had moved enough for them to miss his heart. The other arrow buried into his left thigh. The momentum of the shots fired sent Seto hurtling over the rail of the balcony and sent plummeting through the night sky toward the ground three stories below.

"Go and find him and kill him. He must not get to my husband." Vivian snapped, and the three guards left to obey.

* * *

Mokuba was sitting in his bedchamber reading when he heard glass breaking in the room above his own, which was Seto's bedchamber.

Curious and slightly concerned, he marked his place and stood to go find out what was happening when a low thud coming from outside on the balcony startled him into whirling around toward the source of the noise.

"Oh my God." He gasped as he rushed toward the crumpled, ravaged form of his younger brother lying in a heap on the balcony. Mokuba saw red when he first caught sight of the arrows protruding into Seto's body.

Acting quickly, Mokuba sliced the heads of the quarrels off, wincing when Seto loosed a strangled cry at the pain of that action. He tossed the broken arrows out of sight before carefully helping Seto to his feet. Mokuba allowed Seto to lean his weight onto him as Mokuba quickly yet gently led Seto toward their father's bedchamber.

* * *

Isis was horrified at what she had seen.

She had come up to check in on Seto after he claimed to be sick, and instead she found Lady Wellingshire having her way with her charge. Isis froze, trying to figure out what to do, until she closed the door, too sick to see any more. She rushed to her lord's bedchamber to report what she had seen.

Obviously, Raphael had been just as horrified and disgusted at hearing what was happening as Isis had been. He had also been beyond furious. He did not want to believe Isis when she told him at first, but Isis would not have a reason to fabricate something of this magnitude, and especially when it involved her young charge.

Isis and Raphael were still trying to figure out what they should do about Vivian when the door to the bedchamber opened to show Mokuba.

"Mokuba, not-"

Isis screamed and Raphael paled so much that he had nearly fallen unconscious.

"Seto!" Isis rushed forward to help Mokuba carry the boy and they laid him down on Raphael's bed.

"What happened?" Isis demanded.

"Vi-Vivian…" Seto murmured, nearly inaudible before he slipped into unconsciousness from the pain and blood loss.

Isis looked up toward Raphael to see if he had heard, and she was slightly intimidated by the livid expression on Raphael's face.

"Mokuba, go a fetch Dr. Hopkins." Raphael ordered and his son rushed to obey, "Isis, create a compress and hold it tight to the wounds in Seto's shoulder and leg. Have Mahado assist you." And with that, Raphael quit the room, but not before he grabbed his saber from it's place on his wall.


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters from the anime. I own the plot, Yami's female persona, and Wellingshire Manor. **

**WARNING! There is a very graphic torture scene at the end of this chapter, so if things like that make you squeamish, then it's better if you skip it. Otherwise, enjoy some intensely violent Vivian-bashing. **

* * *

**Chapter Two**

Wellingshire Manor was in an uproar. Vivian's guard was becoming frantic as time stretched on without any sign of Seto. They had searched the entire property and they found evidence that the boy had landed on the balcony outside young master Mokuba's bedchamber. If Mokuba was inside when Seto fell, it did not take a stretch of the imagination to know where Mokuba would have taken his gravely wounded younger cousin.

As the possibilities of where Seto was dwindled and narrowed until there was no doubt that Seto had reached Baron Wellingshire's bedchamber.

Vivian was growing increasingly anxious as the night grew later and still there was no word of Seto's death. She was pacing the floor still inside Seto's suite. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she chewed on her thumbnail.

With her back facing the door and being so consumed in her concern that she didn't notice the door open and close, or that her husband stood behind her with his hand wrapped so tightly around the handle of his long sword that his knuckles were turning white.

"What have you done?"

Vivian whirled around, her eyes widened in terror as she took in her husband's furious expression, "What do you mean?"

"Do not act ignorant. I only need to look around to know something happened here. I will give you a chance to explain yourself."

Raphael had never felt so furious in his life. Upon entering his nephew's room, he found his wife completely naked among the ruins of whatever had happened in the room. There was so much blood, glass was scattered out on the floor all over the carpet and out on the balcony.

Raphael expected Vivian to skirt around the issue as best as she could, but he was stunned when Vivian's expression turned from shocked terror to smug, "You are such a fool."

"Excuse me?" Raphael demanded.

"You were always so focused on defending against your enemies that you never noticed the real threat living right under your nose."

Raphael trembled as a rage so strong welled inside him, unlike any he had ever felt before, "Why attack Seto? He's just a child."

"Oh no, darling; he is so much more than that."

* * *

Upon entering the Baron of Wellingshire's bedchamber, Doctor Arthur Hopkins' face immediately drained of color at seeing Seto's ravaged form lying strewn across the Baron's large, four-poster bed. In all honesty, Arthur was amazed that the boy was still alive.

Seto lay unconscious upon the coverlet of the Baron's bed. Long, deep, jagged gashes lined virtually every inch of the boy's body while Mahado and Isis held thick bundles of fabric firmly against Seto's left shoulder and right thigh. Blood continued to flow easily out of Seto's numerous wounds, and the worst of the wounds beneath the compresses soaked the fabric completely. His leather pants, the only form of clothing covering the boy's body, hung off of his body in tatters.

It took a moment for Arthur to recover from his shock before he mentally shook himself and stepped forward, "Lady Isis, would you mind fetching some warm water?" Although it was phrased as a question, it was not a suggestion.

Isis rose to obey, albeit reluctantly, and left the room.

"Master Mokuba, would you mind continuing to put pressure on this compress until Miss Isis returns?" Arthur gestured toward the bound fabric resting lightly over the wound on Seto's shoulder, and Mokuba rushed forward to comply.

Arthur set his medical bag on the nightstand and opened the snatch in the top before rifling through the items inside.

"Mahado, please remove the boy's trousers."

The middle-aged butler cut away what was left of the Seto's leather pants and draped a sheet over the boy's genitals to give him the illusion of modesty, even in his current state.

Not long after this, Isis returned with a large tub of steaming hot water in her hands and a few clean rags.

"Please help me wash the blood off of him. I can hardly tell the wound from the bluster."

It took some time, but finally they washed the majority of the blood off of Seto. It was only then that they saw the severity of the cuts.

Arthur removed a stone pestle and mortar from the large black leather bag, a bag of medicinal leaves, seeds, and three corked jars of various fluids and one jar of a yellowish-colored ointment. He gave the ointment to Mahado, saying, "Begin to spread this over the cuts."

While Mahado started to smooth the ointment in and over the cuts starting with the ones on his legs, Mokuba and Isis continued to put pressure on the compresses over Seto's arrow wounds.

Arthur used the mortar and pestle to crush three blue-green leaves, five mustard-sized dark brown seeds, three bright green, and maple-style leaves and placed the remains into the wooden bowl. He then pulled the cork on the remaining two jars, and poured about a tablespoon of each into the bowl before he used the pestle to mix the herbs and the liquids before bringing the bowl over to the bed.

"Lift the compress away from his shoulder." Arthur instructed.

When Isis obeyed, Arthur immediately began to spread the white-blue liquid directly inside the wound. Seto hissed and arched away from Arthur's prodding finger, but Arthur was persistent and continued to spread the mixture all the way in the wound. He did the same thing with the wound on his thigh, and this got a more violent reaction. In his unconscious state, Seto lurched off of the bed and tried to grab for Arthur's throat. Isis moved away from the thrashing boy while Mokuba and Mahado held him down; Arthur mercilessly continued to fill the arrow wound in Seto's thigh with that god-awful ointment.

As Arthur finished using the ointment on the arrow wounds, the younger men noticed that the bleeding in both wounds had dwindled to a faint trickle. Arthur motioned for Mahado to finish spreading the yellow ointment on the cuts on Seto's body while Arthur wrapped a length of bandages around Seto's thigh and around Seto's chest and his shoulder down to his mid-biceps on his left arm. Arthur then turned his attention to the deep knife wounds in Seto's forearms. He nearly lost his composure when he finally saw how deep the cuts had been, and that he could almost see the bones in the boy's arms.

Arthur checked Seto's pulse several times while he worked, and then he pulled three pints of blood out of the medical bag. He connected a long plastic tube from the bag and inserted a needle in the prominent veins in both of Seto's neck. He handed one bag to Mokuba, "Squeeze the bag to push the blood through the tube and into Seto's body." He commanded before he began to set up a second line for a blood transfusion. He handed the second bag of blood to Isis, and then the third bag he kept to himself as he demonstrated how to drive the blood into Seto's body.

He slowly squeezed the bag until the entire plastic tube was full of blood. He then grasped the tube in his hand and dragged his hand down the line to push the blood into Seto, and then repeated the motion until the entire bag was emptied.

Mahado finished smearing the yellow ointment on the last of the cuts on Seto's face when Isis, Mokuba, and Arthur finished with the blood transfusion. Arthur pulled the needles out of Seto's skin and pushed them into a plastic bag and put them back into his medical bag. He collected his pestle and mortar and medicinal herbs into the bag as well before he took Seto's pulse again. After confirming that Seto would live, Arthur closed the medical bag and said, "Where is Baron Wellingshire? I must speak with him about Lord Henderson's condition."

"I am not sure, but he should return shortly." Mahado replied.

"Very well; in the meantime, I might as well inform you on a few things. I am quite positive that Seto will never walk again."

"What say you?" Isis demanded, speaking out of turn through her distress and horror at the entire situation.

Arthur frowned deeply but allowed the woman's outburst in consideration of the circumstances, and then replied, "You see, the wound in Lord Henderson's thigh had damaged the nerves in Seto's leg. It wasn't bad enough to be lethal, but the damage was severe enough that it is most likely that Seto will never walk again. Considering the severity of the wounds on the young lord's legs and other parts of his body, it is a miracle that he even survived this."

"Have you any idea how proud this boy is? Becoming a cripple _will_ kill him." Mahado said in obvious distress.

"It is what it is." Arthur replied coldly, but then his expression softened slightly, "I may be speaking out of turn, but do either of you know what happened?"

Mahado and Mokuba both shook their heads, but Isis's eyes welled with tears as she nodded weakly, "I know a little about what has happened." And proceeded to tell them the same thing she had reported to Raphael about what she had seen Lady Vivian doing.

* * *

Raphael roared in fury as he backhanded Vivian so viciously that she fell to the floor with a cry of pain, "You wretched fiend! I should kill you for all that you've done!" He hollered, his anger exploding as Vivian gloated about all of her betrayals.

"You killed my sister. You raped my nephew, who is like a son to me, u tried to manipulate me into killing him! Oh, I should send you to hell for this." His voice rose in volume. "But I won't."

Vivian glanced up at him with a cocky smirk on her face, believing that Raphael's previous love for the treacherous woman who had wronged him in so many ways restrained him from harming her any further.

That was until he finished speaking, "It is Seto's write to do with you what he sees fit. Kisara might have been my sister, but you stole away his mother, and his virginity, and tried your damnedest to take his life. He should be the one to do away with you. Alistair!" Raphael shouted the name of his Master of the Guard.

The door to Seto's suite opened to admit a lean yet muscular young man with shoulder-length red hair, gunmetal-gray eyes, dressed in thick leather armor and a sword in his hand, Alistair had with him four other equally devoted soldiers, "Take this wretch to the dungeon."

"With pleasure, my lord," Alastair replied as he bowed slightly to his baron and he grabbed Vivian, who was still naked. He dragged a blood-splattered sheet off of Seto's bed and draped it over the woman so that he didn't have to see her like that and become sick at the sight before he and his men dragged the former Lady Wellingshire out of the room.

Her screams of indignation and commands to be set free filled the corridors of the mansion, becoming quieter the further the guards took her. Raphael went back to his own bedchamber to check on Seto's progress.

Raphael was just as disheartened by Doctor Hopkins' announcement that Seto would most likely become a cripple, but he did not take it to heart. As Mahado had pointed out earlier, Seto was a very proud man, known to be extremely stubborn. If he decided that he would not be a cripple, then Seto will not become a cripple. Time will only tell what will happen to his young nephew.

As the months since Seto's assassination attempt dragged on, Seto had become a bitter, downright nasty young man. His contempt mostly revolved around humans of the female variety, but considering what he had gone through, that was not something anybody held against the boy.

* * *

As Raphael predicted, Seto had refused to listen to Arthur's claims on never being able to walk again, using some rather choice words to demonstrate his displeasure at even the suggestion that he would never walk again. In the beginning, it seemed hopeless. Seto could barely stand up without assistance, let alone walk. His right leg was excruciatingly painful, and the pain nearly always brought the young man to his knees.

But then, Seto's pride began to take affect, and before long, he barely needed anyone's help in standing on his own. He used the walls and objects around him for support, but he was making astonishing progress, and Doctor Hopkins declared that if he continued on the way he has, he might very well be able to walk. He brought Seto a cane to use.

Another few weeks passed, and Seto could walk quite well while using the cane, barely staggering at all, even though the pain in his leg continued to assault him every time he put his weight on his right foot.

He refused to allow anyone to touch him at this point, male or female. He kept insisting that he did not need anyone's help in this. His cane would do just fine.

A month later and Seto barely even needed the cane to walk. He did have a prominent limp in his gait when he walked, but it was a miracle that Seto had come this far.

Another few months passed, and Seto got rid of his cane. He still had a noticeable limp, but for the most part, he was doing splendidly in his recovery. His wounds had long since healed. His body was lined with a multitude of horrible scars. Even though they did not necessarily detract from his previous attractiveness, Seto refused to look inside a mirror lest he be reminded of what had been done to him.

Raphael, once Seto had recovered from the incident, informed his nephew about Vivian's murder of Seto's mother. Naturally, Seto was furious, and when he demanded to be brought to the vile woman, Raphael immediately obliged.

Vivian had remained for almost a year in the cell in the manor's dungeons, and she had lost a considerable amount of weight. She looked delirious with fever, and had a horrid cough that sounded that the woman had contracted pneumonia in her time in the dungeon.

There was a time that Raphael would have been pained by the sight of his wife in this manner, but now he gazed down at her with cold eyes, whatever love he had for her long gone from his heart.

Seto sneered at the woman, his fists clenching and unclenching as he stood beside his uncle.

"You may do with her whatever you please, but be sure that she is dead by the time you are through."

Seto smiled wickedly as a multitude of scenarios drifted through his mind at those words, "Gladly."

Raphael turned and left Seto there with his bound former wife.

Seto remained in the dungeon with his aunt for an entire week. The woman's screams of excruciating agony filling the Wellingshire mansion night and day. Again, this should have pained Raphael, and even Mokuba, to hear their wife and mother screaming in such a manner for so long, but now, they felt nothing for the woman. Only fear for the young man who could cause the woman's endless screaming.

Once the week was through, finally the screaming faded. It was done. Seto had tortured the woman nonstop, slicing off small portions of her body with a particularly dull knife, gouging out the woman's eyes, her ears, each finger, and every toe. He made shallow cuts all the way up the length of Vivian's legs before he poured smoldering tar on and inside the wounds. He used a stake that had long nail protruding from the head and rammed it up Vivian's vagina and raped her with that stake until he had torn her completely apart inside. He even did the same to her anus as well.

In the end, Seto cut open Vivian's torso and slowly began to remove her internal organs, starting with her kidneys, then her stomach and appendix, then he extracted her large and small intestines, her liver, lungs, and finally her heart. She was still alive when he cut out her still beating heart.

Seto stepped back and away from what remained of Vivian, his clothes, hands, and most of his forearms were covered in the woman's blood.

After the final pump of Vivian's heart that he held in his hand, Seto changed into a cold, unfeeling man. His family and friends feared him; they kept their distance from him. Seto was fine with this. He forgot how it felt to love, how to trust. Even his cousin, who was like a brother to him, wanted to keep as far away from the man Seto had become. It broke their hearts to think it, but they often wondered would it have been more merciful if Seto had died that day, exactly one year ago.


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters from the anime. I own the plot, Wellingshire manor, any noble titles in the story, Yami's lullaby, and Yami's female persona. **

**A/N: I apologize if the last part of the previous chapter was a bit gruesome, but it's over now and I'm bringing in the cutest little guy around in this chapter to help lighten the mood of the story. Yep, Yugi and Yami are coming in at you in this chapter, so be prepared for cuteness overload and badass female Yami. ^_^ **

* * *

**Chapter Three**

_Will they ever stop talking?_

Yugi Mortensen let his head fall back onto the headrest of the large stuffed armchair he was sitting in, his eyes closed as he rubbed his fingers over his eyes in agitation and to push back the gathering pain there as he continued to partially listen to the false sympathies of the adults around him. They did not care about him or his late parents. They were nothing in the sight of the upper crust of Denmark. Until they found out that Yugi was declared heir to the family's name and title upon turning eighteen, five years from now.

"We are all deeply saddened by your loss, Lord Mortensen." One middle-aged gentleman said, "'Tis tragic to lose them so soon."

"My lords and my ladies, you may see yourselves out now."

Yugi lifted his head at the light, feminine dialect that pierced through his irritation and he smiled lightly at seeing the newcomer standing in the open doorway to the formal greeting room of his family's mansion.

The nobles turned at the voice as well and they all began murmuring their displeasure at seeing the young woman.

She was a beautiful girl, but in their eyes she was far too wild and uncouth. Standing at about five feet, four inches tall, she had a more athletic figure than the curvaceous body the Danish and English ladies preferred, which told them she had foregone a corset beneath her ankle length deep scarlet gown with a scoop neckline that only revealed a slight hint of the valley between her modest breasts, a corded, gold braided belt hugged her slender waist and two long strands lay along the length of her skirts. She had creamy, tawny skin without blemish, shoulder-length blonde hair that seemed to hold red and black highlights intertwined in the light yellow strands, which was unique to see but oddly fetching, and the most startling yet lovely scarlet eyes that were only a few shades lighter than her gown.

Her gaze unwavering, she stepped to the side of the door and swooped her arm out, gesturing that her previous statement had not been a request, "My lord Mortensen seems to be growing tired of your tedious yammering. Please, show yourselves the door and rid yourself of the knowledge to come back to this house, if you'd please."

Yugi had to mentally catch himself from laughing at his childhood friend's crass comments. Oh, how the members of the ton turned red with indignation.

"Now see here, young lady." One man tried to reprimand her, perhaps attempt to teach the young woman her place, when the young focused a smoldering glare toward the human who made that outburst, "Do not make me repeat myself, sir."

The assembly shivered at the underlying threat in the lady's voice as they slowly moved to obey. One by one, they quit the room, and both Yugi and the young woman listened carefully and counted the times the front door opened and closed behind their overbearing egos.

"Athena." Yugi finally said as he watched the young woman stroll with unbridled grace over to his chair and she pulled the young boy into her arms.

"I am terribly sorry for your loss." Athena whispered into Yugi's ear as tears choked her.

Athena had known Lord and Lady Mortensen since she was a small girl. Lady Mortensen had been a friend of Athena's mother, and so Yugi was like Athena's beloved younger brother.

However, she had not come to Denmark to pay her respects to the late Lord and Lady Mortensen. No, Athena had much more dire things to concern herself with, although it did have to do with Yugi's parents' deaths.

"Yugi, has anyone come to call to petition guardianship over you?" Athena asked once she released Yugi and allowed him to settle back into his chair.

"No, not yet."

"Very well then. Go upstairs and pack your things. We must leave here soon."

"What? Why?" Yugi asked, completely baffled.

"I have my suspicions that your parents did not die from natural causes. I have reason to believe that your parents were murdered, and I would like to have you some place safe for the time being until I have proof in favor of or denying my suspicions. I have made contact with your father's cousin in London, and we must be on our way as soon as possible." Athena explained.

She did not want to frighten the boy, but Yugi had a right to know what she was thinking. Besides, one look into the cherubic face of his, and looking into those large, innocent amethyst eyes, and Athena could deny him nothing.

Yugi nodded in comprehension before he rose and quit the room to obey Athena. There was logic in what Athena thought, and it might do Yugi some good to keep away from the home that held too many memories of the times he had with his mama and papa. He packed three trunks full of his clothes, shoes, washcloths, utensils, hairbrush, several of his favorite books, and a small portrait of him and his parents and Athena together. An older man came and helped Yugi carry his trunks down to a coach parked in the drive. He was his parents' faithful butler for thirty-two years.

Once Yugi's things were safely packed into the coach, Yugi and Athena climbed into the coach while Solomon took the driver's seat of the buggy.

"Who is this relative of mine. I was not aware I had family in London?" Yugi asked, trying to fill the uncomfortable silence.

"Your father's mother is from London, and his mother had three brothers, one of them was illegitimate. His name is Mahado Jefferson, and he lives as a servant in the Baron of Wellingshire's home. He has expressed his eagerness to have you with him until either things become settled or you reach your majority. I have met the man quite a few times in the past, Mahado is a good man, and his wife is a lovely person as well. And I will stay with you as long as you feel like you need me." Athena added, noting Yugi's frightened expression at having to face strangers, but he relaxed knowing that his childhood friend would not abandon him to these people.

"You honestly think I would leave you alone with strangers after you lost your parents? Who do you think I am?" Athena asked in feigned hurt.

"I apologize. I know you would not leave me, but these past few weeks have done quite a number on me." Yugi confessed as his eyes began to sparkle and tears gathered at the corners of his eyes. He had not mourned properly for his parents' death and it was long overdue.

Athena moved to sit beside Yugi and pulled the boy into her side, letting Yugi weep into her shoulder as she ran her fingers through his thick, naturally spiked hair colored strangely similar to Athena's except Yugi had mostly black hair, jagged blond bangs, and red highlights.

"Hush, it will all be okay." She whispered soothingly, and then she began to sing the lullaby her mother used to sing to her when she was a child.

"_Sweet angel fair, so young and fragile._

_'I will protect you and keep you from harm. _

_'Lovely cherub, precious rose, _

_'I will always be in your heart."_

"_If ever you feel alone,_

_'I will be here._

_'My love will guard you, and I will guide you_

_'Through all the trials you may face." _

"_My little light, so sweet and mild._

'_Tis okay to cry for now. _

_'One day the pain will fade,_

_'And you will lift your head with pride." _

"_Until that day, I will be here." _

While Athena sang, her voice so soft and melodious, Yugi slowly drifted into a deep, much needed slumber. Athena held Yugi tight for a moment, pressing a platonic kiss to Yugi's forehead.

"Never doubt me, my little Yugi. As long as I live, I will always protect you." She vowed, and even while he was deep in sleep, a light smile crossed his face.

* * *

(One week earlier)

Mahado was anxious. He held a piece of parchment in his hand and read over the contents one more time, trying to tell if he had simply misunderstood.

But no…there in a lovely, feminine scrawl, the paper asked specifically if Mahado would take his nephew in and raise him until he reaches majority. In any other case, Mahado would have accepted the request without hesitation, but ultimately this was not Mahado's decision. It was Baron Wellingshire's.

Mahado rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to work up the nerve to ask his employer such a seemingly simple question. The only thing that really threw him for a loop was when he considered the young lord, Seto Henderson.

Three years and four months ago, the former Lady Wellingshire had raped and then attempted to kill the young lord, but her plans backfired, and Seto had tortured the woman for one entire week before she finally died from her wounds. Since that time, Seto had become volatile and unpredictable, and especially hostile. He often housed himself up in his bedchamber, but when his path crosses with anyone else especially with a female, Seto would become hostile. He had not struck out against a woman, but he had snapped at them, sometimes he had threatened them, and at times he had come close to striking them.

This boy, Yugi, might be safe from Seto's wrath; it would seem Seto has a height requirement before his anger is piqued. It was the second part of the telegram that made Mahado so edgy and nervous.

A young woman would be accompanying Yugi. This Athena Yamiri was Yugi's nursemaid, and if Yugi comes to stay here at the mansion, lady Athena would come too.

Finally, Mahado raised his loosely clenched fist and rapped his knuckles on the wood to Baron Wellingshire's study.

"Enter." Came Raphael's reply, and Mahado opened the door and peeked his head around the wood.

"My lord, if I may impose, I have a slight request I would like to bring to your attention." Mahado began formally.

Raphael, who was writing out something on some parchment, set his quill down and threaded his fingers together in interest, "Of course, Mahado. Please, tell me of this request."

"Well, you see, my Lord. My half-brother and his wife have died, and they left their thirteen-year-old son alone. I received a letter from one Athena Yamiri asking me if I would be interested in taking the boy in under my care until he reaches his majority." Mahado began.

Raphael's eyebrows shot up into his hairline before he chuckled softly, "Mahado, you have served me well for twenty-six years. Do you honestly believe I would deny you this request?"

"Well, I suppose not, my Lord. However, there is another thing. This same Athena woman who sent this message requests permission to stay here with Yugi. She writes that she is Yugi's nursemaid and that Yugi would feel more comfortable here if she were to stay as well."

As expected, Raphael frowned as he fell into deep thought. Mahado waited for Raphael to undergo the same internal struggle that Mahado went through. To turn down Athena would mean to deny little Yugi shelter in his time of need. And quite frankly, Mahado did not trust Yugi's other relatives as far as he could throw them.

After a few moments, Raphael released a long exhale through his nostrils, closing his eyes, and bowing his head slightly as he came to a decision.

"Yes, Mahado. Both your nephew and his nurse may come to live here."

Mahado should not have been as surprised by Raphael's answer as he was. He felt happiness and joy at getting to know his estranged nephew, but his had consternation about Seto's reaction to a new woman coming into the mansion. He was not at all happy when Mokuba's fiancée had come to live in the manor, and although he tolerates Isis for the most part, he no longer is the young boy they had once known, and most likely he would never return.

"Go and call for lady Athena to bring your nephew here as soon as she is able to. Both will be welcome here. You have served me too long and too well for me to deny you this." Raphael commanded, and Mahado left to obey with a slight smile on his face.

* * *

(Two weeks later)

The coach rolled up in the driveway of the Wellingshire Manor as it neared the noon-hour. Mahado swung the front door open wide and rushed out to greet his nephew. The coach door opened and a young boy, short for his age, stepped out, covering his eyes with his hand as the sun glared down at him.

He was a very handsome boy, with a slim frame, wild, spiked, tri-colored hair, and creamy porcelain skin. He wore a rich royal blue tunic and black loose-fitted trousers. He jumped down from the coach, and Athena climbed out behind the young boy. Mahado had met with the girl once, but that was a couple of years ago. The girl had changed quite a bit since last they met, and she had grown into a beautiful young lady.

Mahado only had to take one look at her before he realized that Athena was nothing like the proper English lady. She wore an ankle length pale green gown, with a square neckline and swooped back, and although she possessed incredible grace, she did not move in the deliberate slowness most ladies do. Also, when she met his eyes, she did not cower or act demurely as other women had before. Athena met him eye to eye and then she nodded her head to him in greeting, "Good afternoon, Mahado. It has been quite some time."

Mahado could not control his smile as he heard her voice. It was a medium soprano voice with a distinct foreign accent that sounded like Greek, but in a harsh, crass sort of tone. It was odd, but a lovely addition to Athena's lovely appearance.

Mahado, Solomon, and Yugi all shuffled Yugi's trunks inside while Athena reached into the luggage compartment and pulled out two large burlap bags that appeared to have clothes and other items inside. She shook her head at Mahado when he reached a hand out to offer her his assistance, "Thank you for your kind gesture, but I am quite capable of handling my things." She granted him a sweet smile to soften the blow to his ego.

Once inside, there was a line of people in the entrance hall. Lord Wellingshire, young master Mokuba, his fiancée Rebecca, Isis, Serenity the head cook, Alastair, a couple of maids and soldiers waited to greet the newest additions to the Wellingshire manor.

Raphael smiled at the sight of the two young teenagers that came in through the door behind Mahado and before Solomon. He immediately came forward and offered his hand to Yugi, who shook it, and Raphael pulled Yugi into his arms for a quick hug, "Welcome to my home, Yugi. And you as well, Athena." He bowed at the waist toward the young lady who set her bags down and stepped up beside Yugi.

Athena smiled at him and bowed her head elegantly, "My Lord Wellingshire, I am grateful for your hospitality."

As Serenity doted on Yugi and went on and on about how adorable the boy was, and Isis spoke with Athena about some things regarding room arrangements, Raphael heard his son suck in a sharp breath. He whipped his head around to look at Mokuba, who in turn was gazing fixatedly at the top of the staircase off to the right of the entrance hall.

Raphael followed his son's gaze and found Seto standing tall and proud, glowering down at the welcoming committee in deep disapproval.

Yugi was blissfully unaware of this as he basked in Serenity's attention, but Athena noticed the immediate tension in the Baron and young lord Wellingshire, so she turned to find out what had come over them.

There at the very top of the stairs was a very imposing young man who had the darkest expression on his face that said he was not pleased about something, and she had a distinct impression on what that thing might be.

She watched as Seto descended the staircase, his eyes locked on hers as he drew closer. Athena stepped out and away from the others, who watched with bated breath as she moved toward Lord Henderson.

Seto saw Mokuba brace himself, ready to intervene should Seto try anything to harm this new woman. He would not admit it out loud, but that action wounded him deeply.

He paused halfway down the staircase, but Athena continued on, climbing the stairs until she stood two steps below Seto.

She met his eyes dead on, and then she smiled at him before extending her hand to him, "I am Athena Yamiri. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, my Lord Henderson."


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters from the anime. I own the plot, Wellingshire Manor, the titles, Yami's female name, and whatever else does not belong to Kazuki Takahashi. **

* * *

**Chapter Four**

Seto couldn't believe his eyes and ears just then.

He had heard from the servants in the mansion that Mahado's estranged nephew was coming to live at the Wellingshire manor, and so when he noticed the carriage pull up in the driveway, he decided to meet the boy. He didn't expect to find a strange woman accompanying the boy, though.

At first sight of the woman, Seto felt rater betrayed that is upposed family allowed a strange female in the house. Yes, Mokuba's bride-to-be lived in the Manor, but Rebecca was only fourteen and was far too yong to have developed any devious behavior. This woman was a wild card. Who was she? Why was she here? What does she have to do with this boy who had come to live with them?

He had begun to descend the stairs, intending to ignore the woman for the moment and focus on the boy, but halfway down he noticed the woman striding straight for him. Seto stopped where he was to take evaluation of the woman.

She as young, probably a year or two younger than Seto, and she had an inexplicable air of arrogance about her. She stopped right in front of Seto, looking him straight in the eye, and she said, "I am Athena Yamiri. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Right off, Seto pegged her as a foreigner. Her dialect and accent wasn't even remotely close to being English, and with her boldness, there was no way she could be English, or Dutch for that matter.

That raised Seto's suspicions even higher. Why would a foreign woman accompany a Dutch boy to an English baron's home?

As though she could read his mind, this Athena grinned and stated, "I expect that we will have plenty of opportunities to get to know each other while I am here."

"I am sure we will." Seto said coldly, attempting to wipe that bloody smirk off of the woman's face. Unfortunately, his words seemed to have an entirely different effect, and the woman's smirk changed to a full-blown smile, as if she was accepting some unspoken challenge between them. And he would be lying if he said that he didn't look forward to showing this little chit her place.

"Yugi, come and meet Lord Henderson." Athena called out, and the boy rushed up the stairs. He moved inbetween Seto and Athena, and he smiled hesitantly up at the older English nobleman. When Athena set her hands on the boy's shoulders and gave him, as Seto assumed, a reassuring squeeze, the uncertain smile became genuine and he bowed slightly at the waist in respect to Seto, "Pleased to meet you, Lord Henderson."

Seto noticed that although Athena smiled approvingly at Yugi's actions, she made no move to repeat them. The contraditions about this foreign woman was really irritating Seto, and he knew that if he remained much longer, he just might strike out at the exasperating female.

He nodded in acknowledgment to Yugi's actions before he removed himself from the entrance hall to go back to his bedchamber.

* * *

Mahado, a red-haired man named Alastair, the young master Mokuba, and a brunet man named Valon helped take Yugi's trunks up to a previously prepared suite. Yugi was exploring the large expanse of his bedchamber while Athena was next door in the adjoined suite unpacking her bags and putting her things in their proper places. Her clothes were becoming so restricting, and she felt as though she would go crazy if she didn't change out of these horrid clothes anytime soon.

Isis and Serenity, two extremely kind older women, had offered to assist her, but Athena declined their offer, instead she inquired about getting her and Yugi something to eat. She explained that they had not eaten since the evening before, and the ladies left quickly to accommodate. She had heard Serenity cooing to Yugi, "Oh, you poor thing." Before she went to prepare something to tide the two over until dinner.

Athena stripped out of her gown and tossed it carelessly across the coverlets on the bed, and even removed her undergarments until she was completely nude. She barred the doors to her suite, and then she went over to a low table where a bowl of lukewarm water was set with a cloth draped over the side of the bowl. She wet the rag and began to scrub the cloth across the back of her neck, her underarms, her arms, chest, and stomach to remove any sweat that might have collected there. She leaned her head over the bowl and started the wet her hair and splash some of the water in her face.

She wrang the excess water from her hair before she dried herself of and went to gather some suitable clothes to wear that would not feel as constricting as the previous gown had been. She would have much rather stay naked, but she did not want to scandalize anyone who might see her, or create a bad impression this soon after arriving. Back at home, nudity was no huge deal. Neither were women who preferred to dress as a man, but here in England, the people would be horrified by her uncouth behavior. She had to keep up appearances for now until the people here get used to her.

She found a calf-length, medium blue dress with a swooping neckline that showed a bit of cleavage and foreshadowed the valley between her breasts. It was better than going around naked, so it would have to do.

She had just changed into the dress when there was a knock at her door. She answered it to find Isis standing on the other side, "A snack has been prepared for you and Lord Mortensen, Lady Athena."

Athena smiled at the older woman lightly and shook her head, "I have no title, lady. You may call me Athena, and I am quite sure that Yugi would prefer it if you called him Yugi as well. After all, he is your husband's nephew. He is a bit nervous, and I am certain he would feel more welcome without the titles."

Isis smiled at the younger woman and nodded, "That will do fine, Athena."

"Good. Yugi?" Athena called, and the boy opened the door to poke his head out, "Yes?"

"Are you ready to eat?"

A brilliant smile flashed across the boy's precious baby face and he nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, very."

Isis chuckled lightly at the boy, her heart warming to him. He reminded her so much of how Seto had been when he was a small boy, especially before his mother's death.

* * *

Athena settled on the edge of Yugi's bed, smiling down at the boy as he rested his head in her lap. She threaded her fingers through his hair once before she began running her hand up and down Yugi's back in a soothing motion that had put Yugi into such a deep sleep. His cherubic features were relaxed, his mouth open a little and he let out the smallest of snores she had ever heard. Everything about this boy was endearing to her. In some ways Yugi was like her little brother, in other ways, she was similar to a second mother for him.

The boy had exhausted himself at supper as he yammered on and on about himself to his adoring audience, who leaned on his every word as the boy ate their hearts out. When Seto had come down to get his food from Serenity, even he stood listening to Yugi before retreating back into his hide-hole.

While Yugi talked, Athena's attention honed in on two males near the front of the dining hall. They were whispering to each other, and staring fixatedly at Yugi. She kept watching them, and when the two left the dining hall, she let them go. She knew who they were, personal favorites of the ones who threatened Yugi's safety. She'd have to deal with them immediately.

Her mind involuntarily moved back to Seto.

Something about the way that young man holed himself up in his bedchamber seriously angered her. It was so like an ostrich hiding its head in the sand when it became scared, or how a dog would continuously lick its wounds when it got hurt, but didn't want to move for fear of injuring themselves further. For a man who was obviously held as an object of fear and anxiousness, to Athena, she thought he was a coward. He wouldn't survive in her homeland for more than a few days.

After supper, Athena had taken Yugi up to his suite and they spoke a little about how Yugi felt about Wellingshire Manor. He was growing quite fond of the people here, especially with his Uncle Mahado and Aunt Isis. He thought Raphael and Mokuba were so charming and caring. He even mentioned that he wouldn't mind talking with Seto for a while. Athena figured that Seto might listen and carry on conversation with the boy, but Athena wasn't certain if she wanted Seto near Yugi because the man has obviously twisted conceptions about people and she didn't want Yugi to pick up on them.

Once she was certain Yugi was asleep, Athena gently positioned Yugi on the bed and pulled the covers over him and tucked them around him before standing and moving to the door connecting Yugi's room to hers, making sure both of the doors to Yugi's room were barred against entry.

She changed clothes, this time donning a pair of black slacks and a beige short sleeved tunic. She wrapped a long deep crimson hooded cloak around her shoulders, fastened it in place, and pulled her short hair into a queue before pulling the hood over her head. She opened the glass doors leading to the balcony and judged the distance between the balcony and the ground. It looked to be only two stories up, and so Athena went to her wardrobe and took out a long rope. She tied one end of the rope into an adjustable hitch around one of the spokes of the balcony railing. She jumped over the side and scaled down the side of the mansion. Once her feet touched the ground, she maneuvered the length of rope until it was out of sight. She went to the stables and found one of the two horses that had pulled the carriage she and Yugi had arrived in. She saddled the big liver bay gelding and mounted him like a man, with one leg on each side of the horse. She nudged the horse into a slow walk until they reached the property edge, and then Athena pushed the gelding into a full-out gallop heading out into the deep night.

* * *

Athena strode into O'Leary's Tavern in the underbelly of London, her head held high while her face was still hidden beneath the cowl of her cloak. The heels of her boots clicked ominously against the wooden planks of the floor as she made her way straight for three large, burly men drinking mugs of ale one after the other sitting at a table near the rear of the dining area of the tavern. She did not miss the leering stares of the men she past, but she ignored their attention, as her attention was set on her targets.

When the barwench poured the men another mug of ale, Athena's hand shot out, and she tipped the mouth of the mug against her lips and chugged the liquid down quickly before she slammed the thick, heavy, empty mug against the back of the head of the man closest to her. The man fell limply to the floor, blood pooling out of a gaping gash in the man's skull. He was not breathing.

"Which one of you bastards tipped the Marrisons off?" She demanded in a low, menacing tone that only the remaining two men and the horrified barwench could hear. She shoved the woman out of range, because she knew that there would be a fight to come.

One of the men stood to confront her, and he threw a punch toward Athena's face. Athena caught the drunkard's fist in her palm before she twisted the man's arm across her shoulder and twisted her body so that her back faced the man's chest. She heard him groan in pain before Athena followed through with the motion and slammed the man, face-up, against the floor. She lifted one foot and pressed the heel of her boot to the fallen man's throat while she pulled a single-shot, twin barrel handgun from under her cloak and aimed it at the other man's forehead, who had risen to try and assist his friend, and stopped dead when he realized he was staring down the barrel of a gun.

"How did you learn about Yugi? Who told the Marrisons he was in London?" She demanded, her voice now resembling an animalistic growl. "And you had better answer quickly. It only takes five pounds of pressure to collapse the esophagus."

"Nobody did. We had been stationed in Wellingshire to keep watch on Mahado. It was just luck that we found the boy." The man still sitting at the table rushed to comply.

"And I assume that you already told them?" She inquired, her eyes smoldering in her fury.

"We did-" The man didn't have time to finish.

Athena squeezed the trigger of the handgun at the same time she stomped down on the fallen man's throat. The man at the table slumped as he was killed in seconds, but the man on the floor clawed and fought for oxygen as he struggled but none could be found, and he suffocated slowly. By the time the man died, Athena was already gone.

When the constable did his questioning, nobody could identify the mysterious murderess. Nobody saw her face, nor heard her voice. They only knew that she was female of average height and build. That did not really narrow down the suspects at all.

* * *

Athena rode her gelding back to the Wellingshire property while winding and weaving through the outlying forest in case she was being followed. She put the gelding back into his stall and cooled him out as quickly as she could. As much of a hurry as she was in, Athena couldn't let her horse stand there freezing in his sweat.

She climbed the rope back into her bedchamber to minimize the possibilities of getting caught sneaking back into the mansion by a late-night servant or one of the noble occupants.

Athena stripped naked and climbed into her bed, but sleep evaded her as her mind whirled with the revelations of what she learned. Yugi's greedy, violent relatives, the Marrisons, knew Yugi was here in London, where Yugi was staying, and would do everything possible to get Yugi back. Athena's mind was occupied with the plans she had to make in order to protect the boy.

She debated about telling anyone about the danger to Yugi. In the end, she came back to one conclusion.

The only one who might stand a chance at helping her keep Yugi safe was the same man who was stuck in self-deprecation over the events of his past. If he was to help her, Seto would have to move past whatever had made him the way he was. Until that time, Athena could not trust him to stay level-headed in this.

That was fine with her. She could keep Yugi safe all on her own. She'd make sure of it.


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters from the anime. I own the plot, Wellingshire Manor, the titles, and Yami's female persona, and two OCs. **

**A/N: Sorry, I tried to use only Yu-Gi-Oh characters, but couldn't figure out anyone quite suited to play the roles of the Marrisons. But if you've read my previous fanfics, you'd know using OCs is not uncommon for me, so on with the story.**

* * *

**Chapter Five**

It has been two weeks since the newest additions to the Wellingshire residents arrived, and Seto had come to a few conclusions about the boy, Yugi, and his female companion.

The first was that Yugi was oddly endearing. The boy had a kind of childlike innocence that was exceedingly rare in this day and age. By the time Seto had been Yugi's age, he had been exposed to the corruption of this imperfect world, and yet Yugi seemed to be blissfully ignorant about the things this world could do. Seto envied this quite a bit.

The second was that there was a connection between Yugi and Athena that bordered upon extended family. He figured that the woman was part of the reason for Yugi's instilled innocence, but that was all he would admit in her favor…or rather, all that he could admit.

That brought him to his final conclusion, that Seto knew just as much about Athena as he did on the day she arrived – nothing. He did not know where she came from, what her purpose here was, why she continued to stick around when it was obvious that Yugi was protected and cherished by the staff, the baron, Mokuba, and even by Seto himself.

She was an anomaly; a complete mystery that was obviously trying her hardest to keep something out of the rest of their notice, and Seto hated that. He had been on the receiving end of a woman's hidden motives twice in his life, and both times have left eternal scars on his body and on his soul. He loathed the mystic air that was wrapped so tightly around her, hated that he couldn't figure her out.

Seto had been studying her as many times as he could, and her interactions with the residents and servants of the Manor are incredibly agitating. Seto could see clearly that Athena was searching for something within each person that none of them seemed to pick up on. Could they not feel those eerie scarlet eyes drilling into them when their backs were turned, or the seemingly charming but dragging conversations she makes with the servants that slowly reel out details of their personal lives? Could they not see how deeply she was probing them for whatever purpose she had to study them so closely and so thoroughly?

Seto sat in the armchair in his suite, his fingers drumming against the arm of the chair in evidence of his agitation. He was still dressed in his supper attire, a pair of black trousers, a white, long-sleeved silk shirt, deep blue cummerbund, and sapphire-jeweled cufflinks. He had pulled the tail of his shirt out from the waistband of his trousers to make himself a little more comfortable.

A dull thrumming behind his eyes began to form, growing steadily until the pain became almost blinding. He pressed the heel of his hand to his right eye in hope of alleviating some of the ache, but it did nothing to help him. All of his thoughts, questions, and suspicions were swirling around in his mind too fast for him to comprehend them, let alone attempt to find an answer to them.

Athena had no real purpose here at Wellingshire. Nobody knew a thing about her. She claims to be Yugi's nursemaid, but Seto knew that was a lie. The woman was about seventeen years old; no self-respecting parent would hire a child to be the primary caretaker for another child. Seto grew angry that the residents and servants of the manor believe in Athena's deception. True, she was great with Yugi and cared for him well, but she was a liar. How could you trust a woman you knew nothing about except for that she was lying about her whole purpose for coming here to Wellingshire with Yugi in the first place?

One night, at about midnight, Seto had gotten up to go use the chamber pot and saw the woman riding off on horseback like a the devil himself was on her coattails, and she did not return until almost an hour before dawn. Again, this did not bode well where Seto was concerned. He had been tempted to follow her that night, but he had lost her trail too soon and had no idea what was going on inside that woman's mind to hazard a guess as to where she might have gone.

Seto rose from the armchair and moved to the door of his suite to head to the kitchens to get a glass of water. When he swung the door open, he found two strange people standing in his doorway, the male of the couple had his hand risen and curled into a loose fist as though he had just been about to knock on the wood.

The couple appeared to have been startled by him, that he had somehow known they were there before they announced their presence, he assumed.

The man looked to be only a few inches shorter than Seto, who stood at six-two, and had a muscle bound frame. He had thinning blond hair, one eyes was wrapped behind a bandage, and two deep, harsh-looking scars carved into his face. He wore a crimson, silk tunic, black trousers, and impeccably polished black, leather loafers. He looked dignified and noble, but Seto knew just by looking into his beady gray-green eye that the man was slime, even before a single word had been spoken.

The woman with him was no better. She was a short, plump woman about five-two in height, with pale porcelain skin, a plethora of freckles on her face, shoulders, arms, and chest. Her medium auburn hair fell to her mid-back, and had a straw-like appearance to it, and her eyes were too close together. She wore a floor-length deep purple gown with a plunging neckline that made her considerable cleavage appear about ready to burst from her bodice. She reeked of cigar smoke and a musky scent that almost burned Seto's nostrils.

"Who are you and how did you get here?" He demanded in a harsh voice, seriously not liking how two stranger weasels had found their way into the mansion without being noticed by Mahado, Isis, his uncle, or any of the numerous servants scattered around the mansion.

"I apologize for the unorthodox approach, but it was necessary for us to use stealth in coming to meet with you. We have to speak with you about a matter of great importance." The man began, "I am Baron Leonardo Marrison of Jagerson Manor, and this is my wife Agnes. We have reason to believe that a small boy in your home is in great danger."

Seto knew that every word out of this man's mouth was a lie. The way he was wringing his hands together, that he could not meet Seto eye to eye during the entire time he spoke, the sweat beading his balding forehead, the way he almost vibrated in anxiety, it all screamed falsehood.

"I have nothing to say to you. Leave now." Seto ordered.

Leonardo ignored his explicit order and continued on, "We have come to the knowledge that there is a young boy who has come to live here in your home, Lord Henderson, but that there is a woman who has come with him as well. The woman is a fiend, Lord Henderson; a complete barbarian. She has that boy sitting in the palm of her hand, and she is using him to get control of this land."

"How did you hear about these things? It is not common knowledge." Seto asked, seemingly interested.

"Is that truly important at the moment?" Leonardo asked, "What is important is that this boy is in grave danger. That woman will use him, wring him until he is nothing more than a shell of what he once was, and then she will be rid of him once he is no longer of any use."

Seto knew that Leonardo was lying, but his own suspicions were getting the better of him. Who was he to argue or agree with these strangers on the matter concerning this woman who was the epitome of mystery?

"What do you expect me to do about this? If you have concern over this woman, take the matter to my uncle." Seto dismissed.

"You do not understand. We cannot wait for Lord Wellingshire to respond to this, and we cannot get this boy out of the woman's clutches using lawful means. We know your personal opinions about women are extreme, and we believe that you could assist us in getting this woman out of the way."

Seto became increasingly agitated with these strangers. Yes, he despised women greatly, but he never killed any of them without rightful cause. Although he did hate Athena and was forever asking questions about who she was and what she was after, but at the end of the day, he could not see him actually killing Athena.

"You are the lowest bastard I have ever had the displeasure of meeting. Now leave before I have you forcibly removed." Seto barked.

Seto did not have time to register the man's change in expression before Leonardo slammed his knee into Seto's right thigh, right over the healed arrow wound. Excruciating pain radiated up his body and he dropped to the floor unable to keep on his feet due to the pain.

He cursed himself furiously at his lapse in concentration. Damn, he should have known that these people were capable of doing something like this, but he had been so distracted by doubts and suspicions about Athena that he had forgotten about the possible danger Leonardo and Agnes posed.

Leonardo pressed the toe of his boot to Seto's arrow wound in his leg and ground his foot into it. Seto had to bite his lip to keep himself from giving any hint of the pain he was in audibly.

As Seto heard the click of a pistol cocking, Seto looked up to meet Leonardo's crazed single-eye with fury in his cerulean eyes.

Something off to the corner of his eye must have gotten his attention, because Leonardo suddenly swung his gaze away from Seto to look down the corridor. His eye widened in fear as he stumbled back and away from whatever was approaching. Agnes had a similar reaction, only that she seemed to be hyperventilating as she pressed her hand to her bosom, over her heart, in hopes to settle the sudden spike in her pulse her fear had triggered. She turned and started to run, but a flash of silver shot across Seto's field of vision and he heard a harsh feminine cry of pain and a loud thud as she fell to the ground with a stiletto knife protruding from between her shoulder blades, buried clear to the hilt.

Leonardo stood frozen, and Seto craned his neck to see who had come to his aid. He was shocked that it was the object of their discussion.

Athena strolled unhurriedly toward Leonardo and Seto, and she past them before crouching beside Agnes' corpse to tug the knife out of her back. She wiped the blood from the blade off on the dead woman's gown before she turned back to the two men.

Seto used Athena's distraction to his advantage, and Seto's left leg jolted off the ground and buried straight into Leonardo's groin. The other man stumbled back, cupping himself, and groaning as he dropped to his knees.

"You are bold to come here, I will give you that." Athena said, her voice so nonchalant that she might have been talking about tea or this season's upcoming formal affairs, uncaring that she had just killed a woman, "But you are a fool to underestimate me."

Suddenly, Leonardo lunged up at Athena, knocking her to the ground where she gave a cry of pain. Seto heard an audible snap of the bones in her left forearm snapped from landing on it wrong, but suddenly Athena recovered and they each rolled to gain control of the situation. Leonardo had muscle and bulk adding to his advantage, but Athena considered these things and compensated for her lack of girth with flexibility and manipulating Leonardo's pressure points until Leonardo was unable to fight back against her anymore. She got up off the ground before she slammed her foot into Leonardo's stomach.

Leonardo rolled with the impact and lurched to his feet, making a bolt for the exit. Athena was in pursuit, but it appeared Leonardo had gotten away when she returned empty-handed a few moments later.

She was furious, and all of that anger was directed solely toward Seto. She did not say a word as she assisted Seto up off the ground and led him to his bed. He sprawled out across the mattress, hissing as his wounded leg was jarred from the motion.

Athena left the suite only to return with a bowl of water braced against her hip, a cloth draped over the edge of the bowl, and a small, cloth bag squeezed under her arm.

She set the bowl and bag down on the nightstand before she used the same knife that she had murdered Agnes with to cut open Seto's right pant leg from the crease in his hip clear to the cuff. The arrow wound had reopened and was bleeding steadily.

Seto struggled and protested Athena's actions, but she effectively shushed him by placing her good hand over his mouth and keeping it there until he got the idea that Athena was not in any mood to be messed with. Considering he just saw Athena kill one woman and make mincemeat out of a man, and that he was incapacitated at the moment, he had no room to argue.

After she was certain Seto would cooperate, albeit reluctantly, she wet the cloth and placed it over the wound, cleaning away the pooling blood. She used her good hand and her teeth to tear open the cloth bag and pulled out one bottle of ointment, one bottle of some sort of transparent liquid, and some bandages.

"This will sting, but it will help stem any infection." Athena warned before pulling the cork off of the bottle of liquid, lifted the cloth away from his wound, and poured the liquid directly onto his wound. It was ten times worse than pouring salt onto an open wound, and Seto's body lurched upright as he tried to keep Athena from continuing with this torment, but she shoved him back down on the mattress with a firm, "Stay down and be silent."

Seto bristled at the authority in her voice. Where did the woman get off speaking to him in such a manner, of ordering him around as she was? For that matter, how did she learn how to fight, how to throw a knife as she had, or what pressure points to press to incapacitate someone? She was making things even more confusing for Seto.

Once she was finished torturing him with that god-awful liquid, she spread the ointment over the wound, which surprisingly felt soothing and cold, so much more acceptable to him than that liquid from before, and wrapped his leg with bandages.

She left the bowl of water on the nightstand, but took away the blood-filled cloth and replaced the jars into the cloth bag before turning to leave.

"Lord Henderson, I shall advise you to forget what you have witnessed tonight, and to never speak about the man or woman to anyone, especially Yugi. This matter does not concern you, and you would do well to remember that." Athena boldly commanded.

"You do not get to order me around woman-" Seto began to argue.

"This is not about your male pride, but about a young boy's life. You will steer clear of this matter and not worry him about the events that transpired here tonight."

"Who do you think you are?" Seto demanded, "You do not just get to barge into my uncle's mansion and bark orders. If Yugi is really in danger, then my uncle should be aware of this. As should Yugi."

"You speak of this to Yugi and I will cut your tongue out." Athena said, whirling around to face him, her strange scarlet eyes flashing in her rage.

"You raise your voice to me again, and I will cut out yours."

"Very original, using my own threat against me. Come now, Lord Henderson surely you can think of something better than that." Athena taunted.

Seto could not remember the last time he was this furious with any other woman since Vivian's death, and even she hadn't made him this outraged.

"Those people attacked me tonight, I believe I deserve a right to know who they are and what they want. I would ask why they want to kill you, but I can honestly sympathize with that sentiment right now." Seto protested.

"They are the Marrisons, Yugi's English relatives. They are greedy, selfish, manipulative bastards, and they want Yugi to get his fortune. It is why I brought Yugi here to Mahado. Mahado is immediate family and has more right to Yugi's custody than the Marrisons do; they had originally disowned Yugi and his father. I suppose I will take a page out of their book and tell you that this is a matter not meant to be settled through lawful means. Your uncle, although kind, is too just for this kind of situation." Athena relented.

"All right, since you are in a talkative mood, who are you?"

"I am a family friend of Yugi's late parents, and I am here to protect Yugi at all costs, and will go through any and all means to keep him safe. It is why you will stay out of my way. I will not have you endangering Yugi through your interference."

"That is not how this is going to work. They dragged me into this, and I want Leonardo's head mounted on the mantle."

"Do not bring personal vendettas into this." Athena snapped.

"This is not a vendetta. Believe it or not, I do not want to see that boy hurt or worse. I will help you however I can."

Athena stared down at Seto from where she stood across the room for a long moment before she let out a small sound of affirmation of his claim and she turned and headed for the door again.

"Get some sleep." She ordered as she closed the door behind her.

On the other side of Seto's bedchamber door, Athena dragged Agnes' body down the corridor and back into her own suite, where she threw Agnes' body over the balcony where it landed in a cluster of bushes. She would deal with Agnes in the morning, she figured, and then went about resetting the bones in her forearm.

She used her teeth to tie a tight tourniquet around her arm and pulled on the knot until she felt the bones align again and then bound her arm in a long coil of bandages to hold the bones in place to heal.

Once she was finished and the adrenaline rush from encountering the bastard Marrisons, Athena stripped out of her clothes and dropped onto the bed. She barely crawled under the covers and blew out the lantern before she fell into a state of unconsciousness.


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters from the anime. I own the plot, Wellingshire Manor, the titles, a few OCs, and Yami's female persona. **

**A/N: Holy crap, I am just bowling right through this story. Anyway, just wanted to take a moment and acknowledge and thank all of those readers who took time to review this story. I really love to hear what you all have to say about this story, and I appreciate your criticisms and critiques. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much. Now, on with the story. **

**Warning: There is blatant degradation of a human body in this chapter. If this is something that you don't like, then skip over the first section of this chapter. **

* * *

**Chapter Six**

Athena was awake and dressed just as the gray light of the pre-dawn began to slowly trickle across London, a prelude to the dawn of a new day. She dressed in a tunic, trousers, and boots and went to her wardrobe. She swung the double doors open to reveal a small artillery within. There were several pistols, swords of all sorts, knives, a long coiled chain with a curved scythe head attached to one end, a mace, and even an ax.

She considered her knives for the moment, which had been bolted to the sides of the wardrobe, picking out a long, thin bladed dagger. She tested the edge of the blade by pressing it lightly against her thumb, and she smiled as she saw the trickle of blood just after she barely made contact. She slid the dagger into its accompanying sheath and strapped it around her slim waist, wincing a little as she jarred her broken arm a little in the process. She continued to look through the knives before taking a small, thin knife not even the length of Athena's hand and pushed that into the waistband of her trousers. She shut the doors of the wardrobe and fastened her cloak around her shoulders. Should anyone be awake at this hour, it would look damning for Athena to be running around in men's clothing with a dagger plainly strapped to her body. This way, with the cloak, it would appear that Athena was simply going on an early morning errand.

She went outside the manor and made her way around to the back. She found the cluster of bushes she had deposited Agnes' body the night before and located the corpse easily.

Agnes' body had begun to decompose, but not grotesquely so. There were maggots all over her and her skin was beginning to take on a yellowish-hue, and patches of flesh was beginning to peel. She smelled awful, but Athena simply started breathing through her mouth as she leaned over, brushed the maggots away, and wrapped her uninjured arm around the woman's torso under her arms and started to drag her towards the lining of the forest about twenty meters away. This way, if the gardener or lawn maintenance workers came over on this side of the house while Athena was in the process of disposing of the body, they would be less likely to spot her if she was concealed by the trees.

After she pulled Agnes' body far enough to suit Athena's liking, she dropped the body onto the ground and unfastened her cloak before draping it over a low-hanging branch of a sycamore tree nearest to her. She crouched down beside the body and pulled the smaller knife out of her waistband and cut Agnes' hair off until she was completely bald. She then went and dug the tip of the blade into the body's eye sockets and gouged her eyes out before she took them in her hand and threw them with all her might out further into the forest. She then repeated the action, slicing off Agnes' ears, nose, tongue, and even dislodged the woman's lower jaw. She threw the ears, nose, and tongue in all different directions but set the detached mandible on the ground beside the body as though she were saving that for later.

Once that was finished, Athena wiped the blood on her knife off on Agnes' already blood-soaked gown and replaced it in her waistband. She then unsheathed the dagger and sliced open the woman's torso, from navel to nose, decapitated the head, sliced off the corpse's arms at her shoulders, and then she broke off each one of Agnes' ribs like they were twigs. She made a large pile of broken bones, a head, and a dismembered jaw.

As she worked on the corpse's ribs, her ears caught the sound of an ominous howling coming from deeper in the forest, coming closer. She smiled in satisfaction as she sliced off the corpse's legs at her hips, her hands and feet, and then she cleaned off the blade of her dagger and sheathed it, rose from the ground and left the clearing, grabbing her cloak and wrapping it around herself. Even as she broke through the lining of the trees, she could hear the snapping of bone and animalistic snarling as a large pack of wolves finished Athena's job for her.

* * *

When she came back inside the mansion, she made her way to the kitchens where Serenity was busy preparing to start breakfast for the family.

"Good morning, Serenity." Athena greeted lightly, a smile gracing her features as the older woman turned and smiled brightly at Athena.

"Why, good morning, Athena. You are awake rather early." She commented.

"Yes, well I did not have a pleasant night last night. My mind has been plagued with rather shocking night terrors. If it isn't too much trouble, would you mind drawing me a bath?" She asked politely.

"Oh yes, of course." Serenity replied, her expression showing her concern in regards to Athena's supposed nightmares. "It will be ready in about ten minutes."

"Thank you, Serenity." Athena turned and left the kitchen.

* * *

Yugi sat at the island counter in the kitchens in a tall stool as Serenity set a plate of ripe, juicy grapes, sliced apples, and pitted apricots in front of him to munch on before dinner. He was dressed in a white, unlaced tunic, and beige trousers as his feet swung and he happily ate the fruit as he yammered on and on about nothing in particular.

Serenity was preparing a rabbit stew with vegetables and fresh baked bread, listening intently at Yugi's long explanation about what had happened to his parents. To Yugi, it had seemed so long ago that he had been told by their family physician, Sir Alex Brisbane, that his parents had passed away. Yes, it still made the boy ache and he still grieved for them from time to time, but everyone at Wellingshire Manor has been so incredibly nice to him, and he had Athena here with him, the pain was fleeting and only happened on occasion. He could finally talk about it without breaking down into tears.

"I arrived home after school and our butler had pulled open the front door with a very serious look on his face. Not that he didn't already have a serious expression all the time but this time it was different. It was like whenever I have a stomachache, but a little different than that. Anyway, so he put his hand on my shoulder and said that Doctor Brisbane was in attendance in the house and that mama and papa were in a bad way. So Solomon took me to my papa's study to play a game of chess. I am really good at chess. You should see me sometime. I can beat anybody at chess. Well, everyone except Athena. Now she is one tough opponent to beat.

"So as Solomon and I are playing chess, I was winning, Doctor Brisbane came into the study with that same troubled expression that Solomon had worn on his face. He then said that my papa and mama were dead, but not how they died."

"Oh, you poor dear." Serenity cooed as she saw moisture swimming in Yugi's eyes.

"But it is all right now. I mean, I am sad that papa and mama are not alive anymore, but I am here with so many nice people. You give me fruit and pastries if I get hungry in between meals, and Isis takes me on walks in the gardens everyday to see the dogs. Uncle Mahado likes to go riding with me, and Mokuba – he said it was okay for me to call him Mokuba – has been teaching me archery. Lord Wellingshire, he's given me this big wooden chess board, and he'll play with me sometimes when he's not busy."

Athena entered the kitchens in time to hear Yugi's continued rambling and she smiled warmly at the boy, watching as he paused to munch on an apple slice. She frowned that Yugi was snacking when dinner would be served in less than a half an hour, but she knew that should she say anything, Yugi would give her those big puppy eyes and that pouting frown and she would cave in seconds.

Yugi caught a movement out of the corner of his eye and followed it to find Athena standing in the doorway. He launched himself off of the stool and gave Athena an enthusiastic hug. The boy always greeted her as though he hadn't seen her in years, and although it usually warmed her that she would garner so much open affection, but today when he wrapped his arms around her, she had to mentally check herself before she let on at how badly Yugi had jarred her broken arm.

"Hello to you too, little one." Athena replied, wrapping her uninjured arm around Yugi's shoulders to return the hug.

Serenity turned at the sound of Athena's voice and she noted the carefully concealed pain she was trying to hide.

"Is something wrong?" She asked.

"Uh, no. I'm all right." Athena stammered. She did not like to be given sympathy or pity if she was wounded. It was something she had never grown accustomed to, after being raised in her homeland where emotion seemed to be outlawed and pain was an everyday occurrence.

Serenity was not buying Athena's pathetic excuse for a denial. She tsked before she gave Athena a slow once-over to see if she could spot the problem, and she gasped at seeing her arm.

"What happened?" She demanded.

Athena averted her eyes from Serenity's, not wanting her to see her instinctual reaction to her genuine concern. "It's not important, Serenity. Please let it go? My arm will mend soon."

Yugi's eyes immediately fastened onto Athena's broken forearm and he quickly let Athena go before saying, "I'm so sorry, Athena. Did I hurt you when I hugged you?"

"Not at all." Athena said with rather impressive conviction, "You'd best not look so concerned, little one. It's a minor break and will heal in no time at all."

Yugi frowned, one eyebrow rising in contemplation before he nodded, "All right, if you are certain."

"I am. Now, you should finish your snack that Serenity was so kind to prepare for you. And be careful not to spoil your dinner." Athena cautioned.

"I will." Yugi said before he returned to his stool and popped a few grapes into his mouth.

Serenity continued to gaze at Athena, looking like she wanted to say something but thought better than to bring it up again. She sensed that the matter behind the broken arm was a cause of embarrassment of some sort for her and that was why she did not want to talk about it.

"You look much better than you did this morning." She settled on.

"A long bath, a nice ride, and a nap will do wonders." Athena replied with a slight smile. "Dinner smells wonderful."

"Thank you."

A few minutes later, Athena helped Serenity carry the food out to the dining room, much to Serenity's dislike. Athena insisted though, and Serenity learned fast that Athena was solid when she put her foot down about something.

Dinner was full of conversation as Mokuba and Yugi talked about how to improve Yugi's form in archery. Raphael was speaking to Mahado and Isis about making preparations for this season's formal events. Seto joined the family, much to everyone's surprise, and he ate in silence at his end of the table while he observed everyone else as they went about continuing their conversations.

The only ones not in conversation was Athena, Seto, and Rebecca, Mokuba's fiancée, who seemed a bit lonely. Athena pulled her into conversation.

"Where are you from, Rebecca?" She began, and the young blonde-haired, blue-eyed maiden looked up in surprise at Athena.

"What was that you said?" She asked in a quiet, almost shy voice. Athena smiled at her, making the young girl feel more relaxed.

"I was asking where you are from? As long as I have been here, I don't believe I have ever asked you yet." She repeated patiently.

"Here in London. My grandfather is a great physician here, Doctor Arthur Hopkins." Rebecca replied, her voice growing in intensity as she continued. Something about Athena made a person more comfortable.

"Ah, a physician; a fine profession. What of your parents?"

"My mama is a midwife, and my father works as a blacksmith."

Athena nodded, "What do you like to do for fun, Rebecca? Do you like to read or do you ride?" She wondered.

Rebecca looked horrified, "Of course not. I-I don't know how."

"Ah, how about I teach you? Neither one is really too difficult to pick up." Athena offered.

Rebecca looked hopeful, "So, you know how to read?"

"That's right. I had a rather extensive education back at home. I know how to read, write, and do figures as well as a other things."

Rebecca's eyes lit up in joy, "I would love to." She replied excitedly.

Athena chuckled lightly at the young girl's enthusiasm. "We can start after dinner, if you'd like."

"Yes, absolutely."

Athena's smile grew and Rebecca went about hurrying through her dinner as quickly but as properly as she could.

Athena glanced up and saw Seto studying her with an impressive frown on his face. She gave him a frown as well before ignoring him and moved to finish her own meal.

* * *

Once they were finished and the table was cleared, Athena was in her bedchamber when she heard a knock at her door. Actually, it was more like somebody was pounding on the door in an attempt to make the wood into mulch. She swung it open, "What could you possibly want?" She demanded as she came face-to-face with Seto.

"I want answers, and you will give them to me."

"I have no reason to give you anything, Lord Henderson, so I suggest you return to your quarters and leave-be."

"I will not. You have been running me in circles, and if I am going to help you, then we are going to have to come to an understanding."

Athena glared darkly at the man, "Has it ever occurred to you that I do not need your help at all, Lord Henderson?"

"Has it occurred to you that I witnessed you kill a person last night? What could possibly happen to you if someone were to find out that you are a murderer?" Seto countered.

Athena looked properly appalled. "I saved your pathetic life last night. You cannot seriously be trying to hold what I did against me just because I won't be pressed to quench your curiosity."

"Oh, but I will."

"You unimaginable bastard." Athena hissed at him, "You have no proof."

"It is my word against yours. Which one of us do you believe my uncle will listen to about something like this? Face it, at the end of the day, I still have his ear and you are simply a temporary hand in his home until heaven knows for how long."

If looks could kill, Seto would be a bad, distant memory.

After a long moment of charged hatred coursing between them, Athena saw that he had backed her into a corner. Oh, how she loathed this man right then.

"Fine then. I will answer your questions after I help Rebecca. Does that satisfy you, your _highness_?"

Never before had so much venom been forced into such a simple word.

"That'll do fine." Seto relented. "As long as I get them."

Athena felt the almost overwhelming urge to slam her fist into his face to erase that damnable smug expression on his face. Instead, she stepped back and slammed the door in his face. She felt a twinge of satisfaction at hearing the muffled grunt of pain as the door literally hit Seto in the face. She intensely hoped that he had broken his nose.


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters from the anime. I own the plot, Wellingshire Manor, the Marrison OC, the titles, and Yami's female persona. **

* * *

**Chapter Seven **

Athena leaned back against the closed door and bowed her head slightly, closing her eyes tightly to ward off the images that began to bombard her. Damn Seto, one sentence was the straw that broke this camel's back, and a tidal wave of horrible memories began to swarm her mind.

* * *

_A five-year-old Athena struggled to pick herself up from the ground from where she had collapsed. Her slanted scarlet-eyes were squeezed tightly closed against the pain of the other older children who ruthlessly beat her with their fists, feet, and large stones. She was clothed in only a dark brown breast band and matching loincloth, and every inch of her golden-tawny skin was covered with dirt, blood, and dark bruises. _

_She had made the monumental mistake of telling her supposed friends that she wished to travel the world and visit other countries. Her other mistake was that they found out that she was more in tune with her mother's people than her father's as she wrote stories of fantasy and mystical qualities and poetry. This was an abomination to her father's people. _

_Her legs trembled beneath her weight as she glared hatefully at the other older children surrounding her, laughing and jeering at her. She had once been treated just like the rest of the children, she had respect and honor and dignity. Now, she was lower than the dirt beneath their feel; flawed and deformed in their eyes. _

_She leaned back on one foot and spun in a roundhouse that made contact with the side of the older boy's head, the one who had cut her arm. His head snapped to the side sharply and he stumbled but remained on his feet. Athena followed through with a punch to the boy's face. She whirled and kicked her foot out that buried into the boy's stomach. He went crashing to the ground but he kick-flipped to his feet and was on Athena in a flash. _

_He rained punches and kicks on wherever he could find purchase on her body. He straddled Athena's waist and raised his dagger up. Athena grasped the older boy's wrists and her arms trembled as she pushed against the boy's arms to stop him from killing her. A trickle of blood leaked out from the corners of her lips and her left eyes was swollen shut. _

_Suddenly, her knee shot up and kneed the boy in the groin. He grunted in pain, and she took the advantage and she surged up with all her might and barreled into the older boy's broad chest. They crashed on the ground with the boy beneath Athena, and she took the dagger into her own hand and plunged it into the older boy's chest. _

_As he writhed in the final throes of life, Athena launched to her feet and held the dagger with the blade parallel to her forearm and dared the other children with her eyes to try and come at her. Dreamer she may be, she had been trained just as well in battle tactics as all the others. _

_One boy rushed forward with his short sword out. Athena blocked the downward strike toward her head with the blade of the dagger and slammed her uninjured shoulder into the boy's chest, knocking him off balance. She spun and sliced a deep line across the other boy's throat. _

_An older girl came up behind her and laced her arms underneath Athena's arms to hold her still and another girl punched her in the face. She felt the pierce of a blade being pushed into her abdomen, and she rotated her hips so that although the knife the girl had used sliced across her bare stomach but did not bury deep enough into Athena's stomach to be fatal. Using the other girl as leverage, Athena pulled her legs off the ground and wrapped her thighs around the girl's head in front of her. She twisted her hips and snapped the girl's neck. The girl holding her dropped her, but Athena executed a perfect back flip and both her feet slammed down onto the back of the other girl's head. The double impact snapped the girl's spine, and she fell to the ground, dead before she hit the dirt. _

_The remaining four kids eyed Athena warily before slowly backing away from her. They recognized the crazed, animalistic instinct overtaking Athena and they knew she would kill them all if they provoked her any further. _

_Athena watched as they all left her in the midst of the dead children she had killed. Horrified, Athena dropped the blood dagger in her hand and stumbled back away from the carnage. She began coughing up blood that had flowed into her throat from her abused, but not broken, nose, and after the adrenaline faded, Athena's body thrummed with intense pain from her recent beating. _

_She ran from the sight of the children she had killed. Although death is a common thing here, Athena could barely cope with what she had done. As she got farther away from the bodies, she collapsed to the ground and vomited what little she had eaten for breakfast that morning. _

* * *

That had been the first time she had taken a human life. Athena could still feel their blood on her hands. She never forgot how it had felt that first time, never forgot the horror that had consumed her, that continued to haunt her even now. Even though she had been sick and felt monstrous, she had killed multiple times after, every new kill became easier and easier until she did not feel anything anymore about murder.

* * *

_Athena, now thirteen years old, pivoted on the balls of her feet and grabbed her opponent with one arm around her waist and the other between her legs. She hefted the girl off of the ground before she slammed her down hard onto the ground. She heard someone coming up behind her and her arm flashed out, her small palm knife flew across the space between her and a fast-approaching older boy. The blade buried deep between the boy's eyes and Athena followed the blade and tugged it free before the boy had a chance to fall to the ground. _

_An older, teenaged boy rushed Athena, and Athena moved to meet the boy halfway. They met in a flash of fast-flying fists and feet as they pounded into each other with all their might. _

_The boy slammed his fist into Athena's breastbone, while the other swung toward Athena's gut. The impact lifted her slightly off of her feet, and she doubled over in pain. The boy was slightly leaning over her and Athena suddenly burst upright and the back of her skull slammed into the boy's face. As the boy reared back, the side of Athena's hand struck the boy straight in the throat. The impact was just enough to collapse his esophagus. _

"_Athena." _

_The girl turned and looked up to find her father with two other men standing a few yards away. She tensed up under her father's close scrutiny as she saw him approaching. _

"_What are you doing?" Her father asked, gesturing to the bodies of Athena's newest victims. _

"_They attacked me first." She replied with a tight voice. It was obvious that Athena did not like her father in the least. _

_He frowned at her in disapproval, "It is a good thing that you can fight as well as you do, but you should never take the life of your kinsmen." He reprimanded. _

"_They would have killed me if I did not retaliate!" She objected, her fists clenching tightly. _

"_Do not take that tone with me." Her father snapped as the back of his hand cracked across her face. _

_Athena stumbled to the side a few steps before she gained her balance again and wiped the back of her fist across her mouth to wipe away the blood from her busted lower lip and bloody nose. _

_One day she would end him as well._

"_Come home now." Her father commanded. _

"_I will not." She replied, backing away from her father._

_Her father knocked Athena to the ground before he kicked her in the side of her head. _

"_You will not disobey me again or else these babies will be the least of your worries." Her father growled as he dragged Athena up onto her feet by her long hair. Athena struggled against her father's grip, but he held fast to her hair and he wrapped the strands around his hand and yanked her head back. "Stop struggling." _

_Instead, Athena pulled her palm knife from the waistband in her loincloth and dragged the blade through the strands of her hair, slicing it off until it fell barely to her shoulders. Once she was released from her father's grasp, she moved quickly away from him and began to run. _

_She was knocked off her feet as a sharp pain pierced her in the back. She landed hard on the ground facedown with a dagger protruding from her shoulder. _

"_That is the last time you will defy me." Her father proclaimed before he gripped the blade of the dagger and twisted the blade while still deep inside her shoulder. She bit her knuckle to stop herself from crying out as the pain became excruciating. _

_Her father slid the dagger's blade out of Athena's back. With the blade gone, Athena rolled, her palm knife in hand as her hand as her arm lashed upward. The blade sliced across her father's throat. His blood spilled out all over Athena's torso, face, and neck. She continued to stab at her father's throat, more and more blood covering her. _

_Athena watched as her father's eyes glassed over and became dull and lifeless. The blood stopped, and Athena kicked her father's dead body off of her as she then glanced over toward the other two men nearby._

_Both stared at her, wide-eyed and mouths open in shock. When she turned her scarlet eyes toward them, the two profoundly powerful warriors of her village backed away from her on quivering legs. She must have been quite the sight, with her drenched in her father's blood, her expression almost completely emotionless, her eyes bright and hateful, and the same knife she used to kill her own father still clutched loosely in her hand. _

_Athena left her village that evening. Her mother had died when her youngest brother was born, and her three other brothers loathed her for the embarrassment she heaped upon the family with her with her eccentric practices and imagination. She set out on foot with only her palm knife, wearing a pair of black trousers and a black breast band. She had gone home just long enough to bathe, change clothes, and burn the blood stained breast band and loincloth._

_Those years following her exile from her home were utter misery. She could never find a place that would accept her. She was a barbarian, a savage who had no manners and would never cooperate with the beliefs and laws of their land. _

_She was too wild. She was considered the lowest of humans, an exiled bastard girl who dressed appallingly scandalous. _

* * *

Athena crossed the bedchamber and lowered herself into the armchair. She leaned her head back, closing her eyes, her hands gripping the arms of the chair as though her life depended on it as she relived the horrors that had preceded her exile.

* * *

_Fourteen years old and nothing but skin and bones, Athena moved across the land, passing through city after city as she tried to find somewhere she could belong. She had the misfortune of being discovered by Roman slavers. She was taken to Rome and forced into slavery for almost two years. She was going mad at the lack of true freedom that she once had, and when she was sixteen, she did go mad and she unleashed her fury out on her slavers. She murdered every single one of the members of the house that she was held captive in, including the remaining slaves just to put them out of their own miseries. _

_She ran once more, and she fought tooth and nail for her freedom. She finally crossed over the border of Rome and only then did she allow herself to rest. She nursed the wounds she had been dealt in her escape. None were lethal, but all were fairly deep and rather harsh wounds. There was one long wound across her abdomen, and another that cut her clear from her shoulder to her fingertips on her left arm. She had a deep, ragged wound around her right forearm from where a leather whip had wrapped around the limb and nearly sliced her forearm clean off. The tip of her left ear was cut off, her face bruised, her right cheekbone had been shattered in her face, and her skin was pale. There was a horrid burn on her left thigh that extended from her hip to the middle of her calf._

_She could not move at all, she was stranded where she had stopped and waited to die. There was no use in trying. Whether the Romans would find her or she would die from either starvation or infection, she was dead. She could almost sense the Fates pulling the strand that was her life taut, ready to make the cut, hear Hades prepare a special place in Tartarus just for her. _

_But death never came. Instead, she had been discovered, but not by the Romans but by Danish traders who had come from Rome and were returning back to their homeland. The woman of the pair had caught sight of Athena and she immediately got off of the tack wagon her husband was driving and rushed to her side. _

_She looked about to cry when she took in the enormity of her appearance. Hades was knocking at the door of her soul, but Athena had been able to ignore the god and fought him off, just like the warrior she was. _

_The woman called her husband over and the man lifted Athena into his arms and took her to the wagon. He laid her among their supplies and the woman cooed and pitied Athena. Athena hated her pity, tried to deny their help, but she could not find her voice. She had not spoken in almost a year after one of her slavers had beaten her and brutalized her until she had damaged her vocal cords with her constant screams. _

_The couple who had found her had been the parents of Yugi, Lord Kaiser Mortensen and Lady Alexis. They took her back to their home, had their physician, Doctor Alex Brisbane on constant surveillance as she slowly made her recovery. They fed her five meals and made her drink three gallons of water a day. Soon, Athena had made a full recovery, barely even had any visible scars aside from the one on her forearm where the whip had bitten deep into the skin. _

_She immediately insisted that she leave; she appreciated their hospitality, and owed them her life, but she could not stand their open pity any longer. _

_Athena would have left then and there two, except for one thing…Yugi. _

_Athena met the young boy when Yugi was twelve and he was the most adorable boy she had ever seen. He melted her clod heart and made her feel almost filthy in his presence. He radiated innocence, and Athena was anything but innocent. That never mattered to Yugi. He saw into Athena and found a lost, terrified, terribly wounded young woman. _

_After meeting Yugi, Athena could not bring herself to leaving. She could feel a sense of redemption when she was with him, and the Mortensen family had welcomed her into their family. _

_She later found out that Athena's mother had been close friends with Alexis Mortensen. Athena found a place to belong again, if only she did not expose to them the horrible crimes she had committed. _

* * *

And then Lord and Lady Mortensen were killed. Athena could not verify this with solid proof just yet, but she wanted Leonardo Morrison to join his bloody wife in Tartarus and rot there for eternity. She had killed for less, and she had ways to go about killing them without raising any questions.

One down, one to go, and Athena knew she would not rest until she put Morrison down too.

After all is said and done, however, Athena will be back where she started. No home, nowhere to belong. Yugi would not need her any longer, and although she would most likely stay close, she did not belong here.

Like Seto had said, Athena was here only temporarily. Although the residents and servants here were kind to her, once she finished her task regarding Leonardo Morrison, they would never look at her the same. Yugi would never look at her the same way.

* * *

Later, Rebecca was seated beside Athena on the floor at a low table with a thin hardcover book open close to the beginning. Rebecca was making excellent progress, already understanding what some of the letters sounded like. She was moving right along when Athena glanced up and saw that it was close to the midnight hour.

"All right, Rebecca. We can continue this tomorrow. For now, you need to go on to bed."

As if on cue, Rebecca let out a huge yawn as she nodded in agreement, "Yeah. Good night then, Athena. And thank you." The girl said as she got up and left the suite.

Athena followed her to the door and kept watch on Rebecca until she got inside her bedchamber.

Just as she was turning to go back inside her own suite, she heard footsteps approaching and turned to find Seto approaching. He had a strip of stick-tape over his nose to keep it in place as it healed, and she smiled in satisfaction as she realized that she really had broken the bastard's nose. It's what he deserved, because he was about to gouge out her soul in a few moments when she had to give voice to who and what she was.

"Come in, then." She stepped to the side and Seto walked in. Athena closed the door and kept her back to Seto as she pressed her forehead to the door. Here goes nothing, "All right, ask your questions and then you leave."

"Fine then, who are you?" He asked right of the bat.

She turned to him, her eyes bright with her determination and anger as she said, "I am Spartan."


	9. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters from the anime. I do own the plot, Wellingshire Manor, the titles, the Marrison OCs, and Yami's female persona**.

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

Athena could tell by the expression on Seto's face that he didn't believe her. Honestly, she did not care if he did believe her or not. He had demanded answers, and so she wanted this interrogation over and done with as soon as she could.

"You asked for it." She said.

Seto scowled at her, "Spartan? They have been extinct for over a thousand years."

"Perhaps Sparta has been extinct for over a thousand years, however I come from the city-state of Lacedaemon, and we are direct descendents of the ancient Spartans. Thereby, in actuality we are modern Spartans, just not as widely identified." Athena corrected.

Seto still did not look convinced.

"Your next question?"

"If you are as you claim to be, how did you come to be here in London? Or for that matter in Denmark? And what is your purpose with Yugi and his late family? Who are you to them?"

"It is a rather long story of how I came to be in Denmark, too long and since I don't pry into your personal life, you have no business knowing about mine. As for my purpose here, I am sure I made that abundantly certain the other night. I am here to protect Yugi. When I heard about Lord and Lady Mortensen's deaths, I looked into the matter and found that the circumstances did not add up. For example, the physician who had tended to Yugi's parents had noted that the couple had not died from natural causes, rather that he could not quite understand either. He figured that it may have been an accident, or some sort of infection that had festered and did not get properly treated, but this did not sit well with me. Should they have had an infection, how exactly did they both have this infection in order to die on the exact same day at the same time? And their deaths were in no way an accident. I then found some documents in Lord Mortensen's study, which appeared to be Lord Mortensen's last will in testament, which proclaimed that Yugi had been named sole heir to inherit Lord Mortensen's title and his wealth when he reaches majority.

"After I found these documents, I heard that the Mortensen's home was broken into and the documents were stolen. I had thankfully made meticulous copies of the information for necessity, just in case something did happen to the originals. I knew then that there was something really wrong about the whole situation. Thankfully Yugi had gone with Solomon to a relative's home in the Highlands for a few weeks during all of this, so he was not in any danger. I traveled to London the day I heard of the break-in, and I investigated a little further. Yugi's family was divided. His father was Danish, and his mother was a Highlander. The mixture of the two was not approved by the remainder of the family, and so they had been estranged for the years since Lord Mortensen married Lady Mortensen. And, understandably, Lord Mortensen did not name any of his relatives in his will, so Yugi would have received everything. Greed is a powerful motivator after all. I then found out about Mahado being a distant relative to Yugi. I looked into his background, to make certain that he would be a suitable guardian to Yugi until he reaches his majority. I then arranged to meet with Mahado person to person, and I realized that he was ideal to care for Yugi.

"I returned to Denmark to find that Yugi had returned, and then we set out to come here." Athena explained. "As to who I am to Yugi and his late parents, I am his personal guardian."

"How did you do all of this research?"

"I have resources." She did not mention that she had disguised herself as a young man, and at times threatened them with immense pain should they be uncooperative.

"What sort of resources?" Seto pressed.

Athena glared, "That is none of your concern, Lord Henderson." She barked. "I reserve my right to some privacy in this interrogation."

Seto relented, "If you are a Spartan, or Lacedaemonian, how is it that you have compassion? Spartans are known for their ruthlessness and impersonal natures; bloodthirsty scoundrels."

"That is a misunderstanding." _No not really, it was actually quite accurate, but he did not need to know that._ "Spartans were indeed ruthless, bloodthirsty scoundrels, but only to our enemies. Within our people, we are just as any other community."

"Why did you offer to teach Rebecca to read and write? She does not require those skills."

"Says you." Athena snapped, "You chauvinistic sod, believing women are just to stand still and look pretty, never to raise their voices or so much as speak at all at times; that they are only necessary for childbearing and nothing else."

Seto actually leaned away from Athena's explosive temper for a moment before he caught himself and then gave back, "What are women good for other than that?" He challenged.

Athena stepped right up, toe-to-toe with Seto, and glared straight into Seto's eyes, "We have souls just as men do, minds and hearts that can feel and think just as you do. How dare any of you believe even for a moment that we are fodder to be used and then cast aside? The beasts in your stables and your kennels have more freedom and are given more respect than women do. What makes you so different from me besides the obvious reverse in genitalia?"

Seto's eyes widened at Athena's crass use of words. He had never in his life ever imagined a woman to give as well as she was getting. He begrudgingly admitted that in her flash of temper, Athena's scarlet eyes sparked bright and were rather fetching.

"We are superior in strength, speed, and in intelligence. We are politically and financially greater than women." Seto countered with the obvious response.

"Oh really?" Athena replied incredulously. "Forty shillings says that I can defeat you in any challenge you send my way. Name your game, and I will show you just how "superior" you men are to us women."

Seto was honestly quite intrigued by this challenge. He also found that this could be the perfect way to put Athena in her place.

"That is fine by me. Tomorrow morning, meet me out in the courtyard and we will settle this once and for all."

"Agreed," Athena consented, "Are we finished with this questioning now?"

Seto tilted his head in thought before nodding, "Yes, we are finished."

"Very well, then you may leave. Go and tend to your nose; it's beginning to bleed again."

Seto growled viciously at the embarrassing reminder of what she had done a few hours ago. Oh well, he would have to prove more than that she was inferior to him tomorrow. He would get even with her.

* * *

Come morning, Seto was out in the back courtyard when Athena joined him, wearing a man's crimson tunic and black trousers. Her arm looked to be healing up rather well, too. She had pulled her hair back into queue, and a crimson cloak was fastened around her shoulders, the cotton material flying on the breeze behind her. Yugi trotted behind Athena as well.

"Shall we get started?" She proposed, "I would hate to prolong your emanate defeat. Perhaps I could bring your arrogance down to a more tolerable amount?"

"We shall see." Seto countered.

Seto chose, first, for them to compete in an archery competition. He figured that he would finish her quickly, and he knew that he was the best archer in Lord Wellingshire's legion of soldiers combined.

Two solid maple, recurve bows and two bamboo quivers with three raven feather arrows in each were set behind Seto on a wooden table. Athena stepped right up to the table and studied each bow to figure which would be more satisfactory. She selected the 38-inch bow, carved and molded with obvious care. She then picked up one of the quivers and slid it over her shoulder.

Seto picked up the other bow, a 42-inch bow, and put his arm through the strap of the quiver before Seto and Athena stepped up to the firing line, both studying the targets in front of them.

There were three targets, each placed fifty yard out from the firing line and from each other, with the last target out at two hundred yards. Seto might give her credit for the fifty yard target, but the ones further than that would be like trying to fit a camel through the eye of a needle.

"The closest one to put their arrow to the bullseye on each target wins." Seto explained. He noticed Athena roll her eyes, and he glared at her for her rudeness. He would deal with that in a moment.

"Ladies first," Seto offered.

Athena slid one of her arrows out from the quiver on her back and threaded it with a familiarity that was actually a little surprising to Seto. She drew back the string, sighting down the target at fifty yards, the string snug to her cheek, one eye closing. She took a deep breath in and then when she exhaled, she let the arrow fly.

It missed the target at fifty yards, but it punched dead center in the bullseye at two hundred yards.

She then pulled the second arrow, threaded it, and fired. Again, it hit the bullseye at two hundred yards, both the first and second arrows touched. The third arrow came out and was fired just a fast, and the third arrow split the first one to hit the target clear down the middle.

She lowered her bow and turned her head to look at Seto, who stood wide-eyed and his jaw had hit the floor at her show of marksmanship.

"Your turn, Lord Henderson. Go on; prove that men are superior to women." She goaded.

Seto hmphed as he strung up his first arrow and when he let it loose, his arrow hit the bullseye of the two hundred yard target, but only half an inch above Athena's cluster.

He growled before pulling the second arrow out and fired. This time it hit two inches to the right of Athena's cluster. The third arrow missed the target completely.

"You let your temper affect your marksmanship, Lord Henderson. You let the fact that a woman did better than you get to you so much that it made your own execution poor." Athena said.

"Shut it, wench!" He snapped.

"There is no need to get angry with me either. You were the one to choose this challenge." Athena reminded.

"I said, shut it." He barked through gritted teeth.

"Wow, is your manly ego so large that me being a woman who is better at archery than you put that much of a dent in it?"

He started toward her, but Athena did not back down, "You realize that this tantrum is not proving your point on how women are inferior to you men."

"I will show you." Seto vowed.

Yugi, who stood a a few feet away, watched the scene unfold between his guardian and Seto with great amusement. He smiled broadly as Athena continued to prod Seto into a lather without batting an eyelash.

* * *

Horseback riding…sword fighting…chess…hand-to-hand combat, it did not matter what Seto had put in Athena's face to prove his superiority, that damnable woman continued to make a fool out of him. Yes, during the sword fighting, Seto had scored quite a few points off of Athena, but Athena scored more, faster. In hand-to-hand combat, he did rough Athena up pretty well, but then Athena started pulling thee bizarre fighting techniques that did him in. She moved so fast that Seto could barely keep up with her; she was agile and could seriously pack a punch. Even considering that she had a broken arm, she was good.

By the time dinner was announced, Seto was sore in more ways than one. He was developing quite a few bruises on his face and abdomen. Even though toward the middle of the bout, when Seto's leg began to act up on him, Athena never went to strike his legs. For that, he did hold a little respect for her. However, he could not wrap his mind around the fact that Athena had soundly beaten Seto in every single one of his challenges.

He supposed that he could no longer say that women cannot be strong; the fist-sized bruise on his cheek and the crick in his neck from the whiplash of Athena's punch to the face that had dropped him in the end of their hand-to-hand competition was testament to the woman's strength. He could not even put blame on the fact that she was probably a Spartan because although the Spartans, or Lacedaemonians as Athena referred to them as, had given many of their rights to both men and women, women were not trained to fight as vigorously as the men were. In fact, aside from wrestling and athletics, Athena should not even know how to do archery or fight as well as she does.

Seto came to the conclusion that Athena was hiding something further than the fact that she was a Spartan; nothing about this morning fit her explanation at all, really. It explained some of the things about her personality and her skill, but not entirely.

When he tried to pump Yugi for answers, although he was reticent about telling him anything about his beloved guardian, he did not really know anything about her either.

* * *

That night, as Seto was headed toward his bedchamber, he past by a partial opened door. He gave a quick glance, out of reflex and curiosity, and then he froze in mid-step as his breath caught at the sight.

Athena was naked save for a loincloth, her back facing him. It was not her nakedness that gave him pause, but the fact that her body was lined with scars to rival his own. Some were noticeably stab wounds from a blade of some sort, others were bullet wounds. Then there were a multitude of deep, jagged scars that he did not understand right away.

Whiplashes…she had been whipped repeatedly and intensely from the look of her ravaged back.

Seto immediately hurried to his suite, the image of Athena's scarred back stuck in his mind for the rest of the night.


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters from the anime. I do own the plot, Wellingshire Manor, the titles, Leonardo Marrison, and Yami's female persona. **

**Warning: Blatant sexual content in this chapter mixed with a mild traumatizing event. This is the turning point in the story where I start reeling the dynamic duo into a romance sequence, but things have to happen in order for things to progress. No worries, things don't get too bad, but there is a scene where Athena disembowels a man. You have been warned. On with the story! **

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

Athena was in danger of going mad.

Leonardo Marrison has remained in hiding for the last three months, ever since the night he and his late wife Agnes had broken into Wellingshire Manor in hopes of recruiting, and then failing that, trying to kill Seto Henderson. Athena would think that somebody who would have the audacity to come to Athena's place of residence to try and get her killed would have long since taken advantage of her broken arm, which was long since healed and Athena was at full strength again. It baffled her that somebody as low as Leonardo would have waited so long to make his next move. Perhaps he had to formulate some sort of new scheme since he had lost his wife to use at his disposal?

But now something even more taxing to Athena's patience has occurred.

Autumn symbolized the first of many formal engagements among the upper crust of London. Every year the wealthy and titled would cast aside their long-standing rivalries to socialize in false harmony, attending celebrations, special suppers, and formal balls while making nice with their enemies.

This never made sense to Athena. Why would anyone take time out of their hatred of each other just to eat, drink, and make merry with the same people they had been wishing dead a few days prior? It seemed useless and tiresome, a complete waste of her time.

Invitations started coming to Baron Wellingshire by the dozens, and shockingly enough Raphael accepted every single one of them. Baron Wellingshire, Mokuba, Rebecca, and, much to Athena's distaste, Yugi were among the few in the Wellingshire entourage, and by default Athena was forced to accompany them. She envied Seto from getting out of going to these celebrations on account that he was a cold, unfeeling, callous bastard. If it wasn't for Yugi, she would have much rather stayed at the mansion and practiced her swordplay, archery, chess strategies, and what have you, just glad that she was far away from the dazzling, confusing world of the English _ton_.

In consolation for her irritation, Athena figured she could divide her time between keeping a sharp eye on Yugi while she did some investigations into the whereabouts of Leonardo Marrison.

She was subtle in her inquiries, acting the perfect example of how a prim and proper lady would behave, even though she was seething in her rage at being placed in this uncomfortable position. She had such strong opinions on this particular gathering on English nobles, and she had to continuously check her language so that she would not let any of her true feelings slip and bring embarrassment and shame to Baron Wellingshire and the others she had become fond of in the last few months.

The nobles thought nothing suspicious about a lovely young lady asking questions that would seem odd to anyone who was not so avidly focused on her cleavage, but she would take what she could in order to reach her goal.

This particular gathering was a coming-out party for Earl Joseph Thompson and Countess Mai's young daughter, Alexis at their winter mansion. Isis and Serenity had spent three hours trying to make Athena presentable, going so far as to dress her up in a deep scarlet, floor-length gown that had a bejeweled bust line, a sweetheart neckline, and a corset-style bodice that made it impossible for Athena to take a full breath without fear of busting out of the seemingly fragile but constricting fabric. They then attacked her hair until it was now a mass of curls and waves that made Athena believe Isis and Serenity had placed one of those miniature toy dogs that noble ladies prefer to own on top of her head. She felt ridiculous and looked it as well. Yugi had told her she looked beautiful, but he obviously thought the same as Athena; that Athena was now inhabiting the body of some prim, prissy noble, English lady and she felt so uncomfortable in this form.

The party was quiet, and extremely boring. The music was dull, it made Athena want to fall asleep right in her seat during the supper feast in Alexis' honor, but Athena refrained from showing her displeasure so she could achieve her long-term goal.

When the ball transitioned to the dancing, Athena received many invitations but inclined every one of them. Athena did not dance; she was not a ballerina, she was a warrior.

"Pardon me, but I must decline. I am not feeling all too well at the moment." She almost choked on her too-proper language as she declined yet another insistent offer from a man who was twice her age, twice her size, and was beginning to show the signs of his true age. He smelled like a boiled hog baking in a layer of mud and swine feces, and it made her nostrils burn and her eyes water. She supposed it was the man's scented oils, but Athena found the scent disgusting.

The man scuttled away, looking disgruntled, and Athena leaned back with a sigh of both aggravation and relief. Please Zeus, let that be the end of them.

She turned her attention to Yugi, who had asked Rebecca for a dance. Yugi was taught all of the ways of proper noble etiquette from his parents while they were alive, and he was a divine dancer. She smiled fondly at Yugi as he twirled Rebecca around the dance floor like he was born to it. He and Rebecca parted with a bow and then Yugi asked the lady of the night, Alexis, to dance. Alexis was flustered and flattered as Yugi began the waltz again.

Athena felt lightheaded from the lack of breathing from her stupid dress, and she stood and headed for the open balcony doors to get some fresh air. Once outside, Athena laid one hand on the railing while the other resting on her abdomen. Her head bowed slightly, she tried to force the fresh air into her lungs that burned from the lack of appropriate oxygen. The night breeze felt wonderful on her heated skin, but she could not take pleasure in it as her priorities were on more vital matters.

Athena's head snapped up and she whirled, one hand burrowing into the front of her bodice to retract a small palm knife. On the other side of the balcony to Athena's right, hidden in the shadows was a strange man in a black tuxedo, copper-gold skin, dark eyes that she was unable to determine an exact color, short, shoulder-length hair that was straight all the way around his head, a band of solid gold settled around his crown. He held himself like a warrior, but had the air of a noble.

Athena could feel chills running up her spine as she took in this stranger. He was not English in the least, that was for certain, but she could not differentiate a region of where he might have come from.

"You heard me? I am impressed. No one usually does until it is already too late." The man spoke in a low, sinister tone, a smooth baritone that was thickly laced with some foreign accent. Athena finally decided on a place of origin. The man was Egyptian.

"Who are you? Why are you here?" She demanded, quietly as to not draw any unwanted attention from the partygoers.

"My name is of no consequence. I am Kalim Hassan from Cairo, Egypt." He stepped closer, more into the light from the ballroom, "As for why I am here, I would think that would be rather obvious for a woman like you, Athena Yamiri."

Athena braced herself for the inevitable fight, hunching her shoulders slightly, cutting that damned corset off of her, and she even tore the side of her gown from hem to the top of her right hip, exposing all of her right leg.

She took in every detail of this man. He had broad shoulder, a solid, muscular frame. Although he was muscle bound, Athena had no doubt that his size would inhibit his power or speed. He had long limbs, good for flexibility, and his hands were almost twice the size of hers. He could knock her head off her shoulders just with his bare hands if he got the chance. He had a malicious glint in his dark eyes that spelled grave trouble for Athena. She thanks the gods that her arm was better, because she knew she would need everything to take down this man-beast before her.

"Marrison hired you to kill me?"

"Almost, little warrior, but not quite. See, Marrison did offer me your case, but I decided I would take your bounty for free. A runaway slave, a bloodthirsty murderer, a thief, an ostracized Spartan with no home or family to call your own; Athena, in another life you would be the perfect match for me. It is a shame to have to kill such a specimen as you."

"You talk a lot. See if you can put action to those threats." Athena challenged.

Before the words were completely out of her mouth, Kalim moved with frightening speed to close the distance between them. Athena just barely had time to block the dagger that was aiming for her gut with her palm knife, and she kicked her right leg out and connected solidly with Kalim's chest.

He did not even budge. He immediately brought his huge fist around and he slammed it into Athena's kidney. She was thrown to the ground. her slight weight and form gave little resistance at the force of his punch. She rolled with the strike and got back on her feet, but she found that her gown was inhibiting her movements far too much.

Kalim launched himself at her again, kicking out in an arc and bringing the heel of his foot down hard onto Athena's abdomen. She heard more than felt a few of her ribs crack and blood splattered out of her mouth. She coughed, but Kalim did not give her time to recover. He was on her, dragging her by her hair down the stairs of the balcony out of sight of the rest of the English nobles.

Athena struggled fiercely against Kalim, her hands tearing at Kalim's as she sliced her palm knife down on the top of Kalim's hand. He released her, and as Athena tried to get to her feet, the pain in her abdomen was crippling. She rolled to her stomach ad tried to crawl away, but Kalim recovered fast from the knife wound and came at her again. He flipped Athena onto her back and used the palm knife that was still embedded in Kalim's hand to slice open Athena's bodice, exposing her bare, modest breasts, slender waist, and the top of her pelvis.

"Glorious. Even with these unsightly scars, you are still an extremely beautiful woman. Just like your mother." Kalim said as one huge hand covered her mouth as the other covered her left breast, squeezing painfully, emitting a cry of pain from Athena that was muffled by Kalim's palm.

Athena's scarlet eyes were wide as saucers as Kalim continued his brutal foreplay while he sliced the remainder of her gown off of her body. She saw him cringe a little at the ugly burn scar stretching clear down Athena's left leg from hip to mid-calf, but he pushed his disgust of that particular wound out of his mind as the hand that had been tormenting her breasts moved to cup her mound through her simple, thin loincloth.

Athena screamed in outrage as she moved her head enough to clamp her jaws down tightly onto Kalim's hand. She bit until she could taste blood, and continued to bite down until her bottom teeth and her top teeth clicked together, embedded clear through Kalim's hand.

Kalim screamed in pain as he used the hand that had been about to remove her loincloth to pound his fist onto the top of her head repeatedly.

Each punch caused Athena to bite down even harder. Kalim thundered blow after blow onto the side of her face, her temple, anything he could reach to get this she-devil to let go of his hand.

While the pain of Athena's teeth distracted Kalim, Athena's hands scrambled in search for her palm knife. She finally brushed the fingertips of her left hand over the butt of her palm knife and pulled it into her hand before she brought the knife down straight into Kalim's fully erect member. He let out a strangled scream and he cupped himself while Athena scrambled out from under the Egyptian.

Athena ran from Kalim, just as some curious attendees of the party were coming to investigate who was screaming so much. While everyone else was distracted, Athena continued to run as fast as she could, considering her wounds Kalim had dealt, until she found familiar road. Keeping to the shadows to shield her nudity, she eventually found her way back to the Wellingshire Manor where Mahado swung the door wide, his face horrified at Athena's appearance. Just a loincloth and Athena's arms covered her nudity from his gaze, and bared her scars to his scrutiny.

"Isis! Come here now!" Mahado bellowed, as he hurried Athena inside.

Mahado's wife and Athena's friend came rushing to answer her husband's command. She stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of Athena and she gasped in shock.

"Oh my God, what on Earth happened?" Isis demanded as she drew closer.

"Could I at least don my cloak before you interrogate me?" Athena half-pleaded. Although she did not care about her nudity, her scars that symbolized a horrific past was an entirely different matter.

"Yes, of course. You sit in the formal greeting hall and I will go fetch it for you."

Athena hated the pity she saw in Isis' eyes. She knew this would happen if they ever found out.

Isis returned quickly and draped the crimson fabric around Athena's trembling shoulders, "Go call Doctor Hopkins." Isis commanded to her husband. Mahado was the only man Athena had ever known who allowed his wife free reign of her mouth. That was mostly because Mahado was half-Highlander and that he kept the beliefs and statutes of the Highlanders closer than he did the English.

Mahado obeyed immediately while Isis tried to worm answers out of Athena. Athena allowed Isis to have the scarce details of what had occurred that night, but refused to go any deeper into her past when she inquired about her scars.

Mahado returned with the doctor, and they hustled Athena to her bedchamber before Doctor Hopkins started his procedure on binding Athena's ribs and checking for internal bleeding and also for any signs of rape. Thankfully none of the latter two were found, but Athena was expected to stay in bed for a few weeks in order to allow her ribs to heal, and she would be sore for a quite some time.

None of them noticed that Seto was hovering close by, watching everything from the moment he heard Mahado shouting to the time Arthur Hopkins announced his prognosis. He was seething inside, a feeling he could not identify welling up life a tidal wave within him.

He wanted the head of whoever was responsible for Athena's condition on a platter, wanted to tear into whomever had dare lay a hand on her.

His emotions were haywire where Athena was concerned, he could admit that. As confusing as those emotions were, Seto ignored them for the moment as he watched Hopkins say his goodbyes, prepare a pain medication for Athena and a mild sedative to help her sleep. He watched from the shadows as Mahado, Isis, and Arthur left and did not move from his place until Athena had drifted off into a fitful slumber.


	11. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters from the anime. I do own the plot, Wellingshire Manor, the titles, Leonardo Marrison, and Yami's female persona. **

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

Despite Arthur Hopkins' explicit command for Athena to stay in bed, Athena was up and about only two days after the incident that occurred at the Thompson's winter home. She was going stir-crazy just sitting in her bedchamber when she had far too much to do. With Kalim's imminent threat and Leonardo Marrison still incognito, Yugi was ever still in danger and Athena would not allow a few cracked ribs to keep her from doing her job. She had suffered worse and more in the past, anyhow.

Athena had enough of playing cripple, and by morning of the second day she was on bed rest, Athena got up and changed into a set of black trousers and tunic, and then she began to attach a variety of weapons to her person just in case. She equipped herself with a short sword, a long stiletto dagger, three smaller, common throwing knives, and a double-barrel, single shot pistol before draping her crimson cloak across her shoulders. Once she was satisfied, she left her suite as quietly as possible. It was not that she cared if anyone saw her wearing her male clothing and her cacophony of weapons, but she could not stand their pitiful expressions every time they looked at her. She was no cripple; she was merely a wounded warrior. She did not need their pity.

Just as she entered the entrance hall of Wellingshire Manor, she found her path blocked off by Seto Henderson.

"Do not even try to stop me." She hissed in warning. She refused to let anyone keep her from doing what she had to to protect Yugi.

"Whoever said I was? I am going with you, and you will not leave this house without me." Seto responded coolly.

"Do what you like, but I will not wait for you. If you get separated from me, you are on your own." Athena said as she pushed past Seto and made for the door with Seto right behind her.

They made for the stables and they saddled two horses, Athena's liver bay gelding and Seto readied a medium chestnut stallion in record time, mounted, and started out of the courtyard.

"So, exactly where are you going?" Seto wondered as they neared the edge of the property.

"I have to finish some investigations that were rudely interrupted the other night." Athena said before she urged the gelding into a fast gallop. Seto followed suit.

* * *

Seto was baffled. Where was Athena headed? Why were they so far into the London underbelly? This was hardly safe for any woman…and he quickly demanded of himself why he even cared what this insane female was up to. If she wanted to get herself assaulted again or killed, that was her problem.

Athena came to a halt just outside the mouth of an alley. She led her gelding by his reins inside the alley. There was a large stack of wooden crates, and Athena tied her mount up out of plain sight behind the crates, just for precaution. Seto did the same, but he still had a mind to believe Athena had suffered one too many hits to the head the other night and it addled her brain quite a bit.

Athena struck out, pulling the front of her cloak closed completely and pulled the cowl over the top of her head. Although it was mid-morning, the shadows beneath the cowl made it difficult to distinguish Athena's features within. She turned on Seto and poked a finger into his chest for emphasis, "Do not speak unless it is completely necessary. Do not distract me; do not speak out of turn. These people have animosity for you nobles, and if you so much as breathe a sound of any sort, they will not speak no matter what I try to do to force them to talk. Do you understand?"

Seto bristled at Athena's tone and her stream of commands, "You do not take such a tone with me, woman."

"Get used to it, because I am hardly going to check my tone or my words to the likes of you." Athena growled, and before Seto could think of a retort, she turned and started back down to the mouth of the alley and turned to the left, crossed the street, and continued on with her head bowed slightly and her shoulders hunched. If Seto had not already known that it was Athena under that cloak, he would have mistaken her compact form to be that of a thin, frail older man. Slightly impressed with her façade, Seto stayed on his side of the street but followed Athena as she continued to go further into the filth that made up this side of London.

Seto seemed to have lost track of time as he followed Athena, because it was almost the noon hour before Athena turned up a side street and then knocked briskly on a weathered oak door.

A small peek hole appeared as who ever was inside slid the small, rectangular piece of wood aside to see exactly who was knocking.

"Who goes?" A gruff, masculine voice spoke out from the other side of the wood.

Seto could not hear Athena's reply, but the wooden slab in front of the peep hole slid to cover the hole and the door opened a crack, just enough for Athena to squeeze inside.

After the door closed behind Athena, Seto rushed across the street and circled the small, ramshackle house until he found an unbarred window. As silently as possible, Seto slid the window up and he hoisted himself up and through the opening before he slid the window shut again and found a place to hole up in the cellar beneath the kitchen. He could hear Athena's voice, although she was being rather quiet about her conversation with the strange man.

* * *

"Did you find anything?" She asked as she lowered the hood of her cloak and stood straight. That position seriously put too much pressure on her ribs.

"Perhaps." Tristan Robertson replied, looking rather tired and haggard, "I found a lead at a brothel down the way. It seems that our lord Marrison is not at all torn up over his wife's tragic death."

Tristan was a tall man in his mid-twenties, with light tawny skin that was riddled with scars here and there, but not nearly as expansive as the scars on her own body. He had short, naturally spiked, brunet hair, and chocolate brown eyes. He had once been wealthy, but he had developed a nasty gambling problem and lost everything. He was a pleasant man, but he was rather rough around the edges, and it was difficult to cut through the thick barrier around him to get to know the man beneath.

"That is not surprising." Athena grumbled, rolling her eyes even as she felt sick that men could be so callous. Agnes might not have been a good person, but she deserved better than to be cast off so soon after her death as if she were nothing. But then, all Englishmen seemed to have that same belief towards women.

"Yeah, well…anyhow, it seems that he goes to this brothel about three times a week. I have a man on him as much as possible, but he can be a slippery little weasel." Tristan continued.

"So, does he have some sort of schedule or is he staying spontaneous?"

"He is pretty predictable." Tristan replied, scratching his stubble on his chin, "The first, third, and fourth day of each week, Marrison goes to the brothel about two hours after dusk. On the second day of the week, he will stay almost the entire day in his home, but my man sees people come and go at all hours. He has had a few invitations to some of the celebrations the ton is holding, but I do not think he is going to attend."

Athena paused, placing her curled hand in front of her mouth in contemplation, "Has your man seen any foreign men coming to meet Marrison? One in particular; dark copper skin, short black hair, brown eyes, about six feet tall, and muscle bound?"

"Not that I am aware of, but I can look into it. Why is this foreigner of any interest?"

"Marrison has hired him to kill me. He came pretty close to succeeding the other night. The thing is that two nights ago, he put off killing me in favor of harassing me. This time, he will strike first and talk never." Athena explained briefly.

"Ah, I see. Yes, I can check to see if my man has seen anyone like that."

"Do you have an outline of the inside of Marrison's home? I would like to repay a favor."

"As a matter of fact, I do. I had a feeling you would ask me something like that." Tristan said as he went to his desk, opened the middle drawer, and pulled out a piece of parchment with an intricately drawn diagram of the inside of a two-story mansion.

"Thank you." Athena took the paper and studied it for a moment, "You have been a great help."

She reached into her cloak and extracted a money pouch that she held out to Tristan, "As always, forty shillings."

Tristan took the money and Athena turned and walked to the door, "Keep me informed if anything else comes up." She reminded him before opening the front door just enough to slip through, closing it behind her.

* * *

Seto had decided after the first few minutes of listening to Athena and this Tristan fellow's conversation, he concluded that there was no need to be suspicious of the guy, and Athena did not seem to be in danger, of course Seto could not care less whether she was or was not in danger, but regardless, Athena seemed safe enough. Once he reached the conclusion, Seto crawled out of the cellar and left through the window where he had come in.

* * *

Athena did not look for Seto as she continued down the street, having replaced her cowl over her head and resuming her façade. She headed straight for the brothel Tristan had told her about.

The brothel was a rather nice establishment, a four story, white brick building with a black door. Athena went inside, and the sour musk of sex and body odor assailed her nostrils. Dear Zeus, this was awful.

There was a lady sitting at the front table in the entryway of the brothel, looking very scandalous compared to the English standards. She wore a bright pink gown that had the sleeves hanging off of her shoulders, exposing quite a bit of her cleavage, and her bright red hair was styled and left to hang down around her shoulders and flowed down her back. She wore a little too much makeup for necessity's sake, but Athena could admit she was beautiful for a woman.

"Hello there," The woman said as she first noticed Athena's hunched form. "What can I do for you?"

The woman had a low, sultry voice that seemed rather appropriate for her station, but Athena suspected that this was all part of her act to sell the image this brothel was trying to advertise.

Athena walked forward until she was only inches away from the woman before adjusting her cowl just enough for the light to illuminate her face for the woman to see.

"I am Athena Yamiri. I have a few inquiries, if you have the time to spare." She said in a quiet, low voice that accentuated her Greek accent.

The woman looked stunned that another woman who obviously did not belong to this lifestyle.

"I have a little time to spare if you would like." The woman offered.

"Very well. Is there a room here that we could go to for a little privacy?"

The woman nodded again before rising from her seat and she led Athena up a flight of stairs and down the hall to stop at one of the rooms that the women at the brothel used to entertain their customers. Athena could clearly tell that the woman was reading too much into things that were not true about Athena's taste or sexual preference.

Once inside, Athena lowered her hood completely and faced the woman was only a slight air of threat, just so that the woman knew she meant business, "What do you call yourself?" Athena asked, attempting to be polite to start.

"Akiza Winthrop." She seemed a little nervous, so Athena needed to try to be a little more relaxed and try to calm her down.

"I will not hurt you, I only need some information and I will be out of your hair before you know it." Athena tried to soothe the woman.

Akiza did seem to relax a little at this, "What do you want to know?"

"You host a client here named Leonardo Marrison, do you not?" She began, her voice soft and coaxing.

"That is correct. He is a regular here." Akiza replied, a little warily.

"Does he have a particular girl he likes to use when he comes here?"

"Me." Akiza answered immediately.

"Good, then this will make things a little easier. Do you know anything about him?"

"Well, after he is finished, he does tend to talk a little about some things he is into. I hardly pay any attention, it is mostly blunder he speaks of." Akiza said.

"Does he ever harm you in any way?"

"Sometimes he gets a little rough towards the end." Akiza admitted, lowering her eyes. She was relaxed now, and that was a very good thing.

"Exactly how is he rough? Does he strike you or does he use to much force when he is in the act?"

"He…he likes to bring a leather whip with him sometimes, and he will use it on me when he is coming close to his climax."

"I am sorry." Athena offered. "How often does he do this?"

"He only started to use the whip a few months ago."

"How many months would you say?"

"About three."

"Ah, all right Akiza, let me explain. Leonardo Marrison is an enemy of mine. His Dutch nephew has recently been orphaned and is now living at the Wellingshire Manor. He disowned the boy's father when his brother married a Highlander woman. Now, Marrison is after the boy's title and fortune and he has already made moves to try and take Yugi into his custody in order to take advantage of the boy's wealth. I am his nephew's personal guard, and three months ago, Marrison and his late wife had come to Wellingshire Manor to take Yugi away while trying to arrange for my death. He failed that time, and his wife was killed in the crossfire. I fear that I am part of the reason he has taken to beating you, but I will make certain he never harms you again. All you have to do is tell me one thing."

Akiza had been listening avidly to Athena's explanation, and the redhead nodded, "What is it you wish to know?"

"Is Marrison going to come back here tonight?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"He comes between the tenth and midnight hours and stays until just before dawn."

"Good. Thank you for your time. Do not let Marrison know I was here." Athena warned.

She turned to leave, but a hand on Athena's shoulder stopped her, "Marrison has mercenaries out looking for you. I do not think he cares about this boy as much as he wants to see you dead. Please, be cautious when you return to Baron Wellingshire's home. They are scattered all through this part of town."

"Thank you for your warning." Athena replied and then she left Akiza and the room, quickly making her way out of the brothel.

* * *

Seto growled in agitation as he leaned against the side of his stallion. He did not actually think Athena was serious that he would leave him on his own if they were separated. Seto had searched this part of London for nearly an hour before he decided to go back to the horses and wait. How dare she just abandon him here, where she had told him that these people did not take kindly to his kind? It was appalling.

He had waited for another hour or so when Athena finally turned the corner and entered the alley coming toward him and the horses.

"Where in blazes have you gone?" Seto demanded in a hissing snarl.

"I was dealing with some business. I have to make preparations for tonight." Athena untied her gelding's reins and swung up into the saddle, "Come on or I will leave you here." She said before she nudged the gelding into a steady walk. Seto quickly mounted his stallion and followed after Athena, knowing now that she was serious about that threat.

* * *

Halfway from the London underbelly and the Wellingshire Manor, the ears on Athena's and Seto's mounts flicked to and fro as they became restless. Athena reached into her cloak and kept her hand there as she pulled her horse to a stop, leaving Seto with no choice but to follow suit, mostly because his stallion would not move another inch.

Athena opened her senses wide and tried to locate the source of their mounts' discontent. She dismounted and unbuckled her cloak, revealing the arsenal that adorned her body. She drew her short sword and her stiletto as she stepped away from her horse. She tossed her pistol and the satchel of throwing knives toward Seto, who caught them and dismounted his own horse.

"We have company." Athena said in a quiet voice, just as an arrow shot out from the surrounding foliage, aimed right for Athena.

Athena slammed her sword down and knocked the arrow to the ground, and repeated that action thrice times more as she made her way rapidly toward the direction the arrows were coming from.

She found five tall, burly figures, all with dark-copper skin and black hair like Kalim had, but they did not have the level of experience or his aura of danger. No, they seemed to be all brawn and no brain, because when they realized that their arrows were not effective, they had to scramble for another, close-ranged weapon to do battle with.

Athena quickly cut the first man down, and then she spun and brought her sword onto another man's blade so forcefully that it jarred the sword out of the man's hands. Pressing her advantage, she punched the blade of her stiletto between his ribs and watched as he fell to the ground, dead before he even hit the dirt.

Seto rushed to assist, grabbing up one of the fallen men's swords and tossed the pistol aside. He whirled and slashed his sword toward one man that had been going for Athena's back, but he had to stumble back when the commotion behind Athena had her nearly take his head off.

"Damn it, woman, I am on your side." Seto snapped.

"Damn it, man, do not surprise me like that again or I will not be responsible for what I do." She responded in kind, and then she threw one of her knives past Seto's head, which embedded deep into another man's eye. "And watch your back."

The last man made a desperate attempt to try and grab Athena from behind, but that was his fatal mistake. Athena slammed the back of her head into the base of the man's throat hard enough to break his sternum. She turned and kicked the man back and onto the ground, grinding the sole of her boot into his chest to make the break in his breastbone more serious.

Instead of cowering and begging to live, like most of Athena's victims were known to try, this one started laughing.

"Too late." The man garbled.

Athena was confused, but then she gained clarity as she snapped her head around and looked out in the direction of the Wellingshire Manor. She saw a steady stream of black smoke billowing up in a tall spire.

"No…" She breathed before she rammed her sword into the man's chest and twisted, ravaging the man's heart before she rushed for her gelding with Seto right on her heels. She jumped up into the saddle and kicked the horse into a break-neck run straight for the manor, Seto once again following suit.


	12. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters from the anime. I do own the plot, Wellingshire Manor (for this chapter at least), Leonardo Marrison, the titles, and Yami's female persona. **

**A/N: DON'T HATE ME! DON'T KILL ME! IT'S ALL GOING ACCORDING TO PLAN! (heh-heh-heh, Corpse Bride...) **

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

Athena broke across the property line at a breakneck speed and she took in the scene before her with growing fear.

Wellingshire Manor was completely engulfed in flames, devouring the building from the inside out, from the ground up. She made a fast scan of the property and found that nobody had made it out of the mansion yet.

Without waiting long enough to bring the gelding to a halt, Athena launched herself out of the saddle and hit the ground running toward the front door of the manor, tearing the cloak from her shoulders as she ran, uncaring who saw her wearing a personal arsenal on her body. Ignoring the ache in her ribs, she braced herself and threw her weight completely into the brittle, burning door and it crumbled under her assault. She found several servants, Mahado, Isis, and Mokuba already in the entrance hall. Some had been wary of crossing through the fire, others just couldn't get a grip of the smoldering hot door handle in order to get the door open.

As Athena came barreling into the mansion, she gestured urgently for them to make their escape while she searched for her charge. Yugi wasn't on the ground floor, and she only had a matter of time until the manor came down around her head. She began coughing, her eyes burning from the heavy smoke, but she pressed forward.

Without paying any heed to the ones now rushing out of the manor into the front courtyard, Athena made a rapid search of all of the rooms on the first floor. She found Serenity unconscious on the floor of the kitchen. She sank to her knees beside the older woman and turned her onto her back. She pressed her ear to Serenity's chest and was relieved to feel her heartbeat, albeit slower than normal, and Athena hooked her arms under Serenity's and dragged her up off the ground. She got Serenity up to her feet and wrapped one of her arms around Athena's shoulders, and she all but dragged the cook toward the door.

Seto rushed inside just as Athena got past the entry to the kitchens and she called to him, "Take her." She commanded, and Seto moved to obey. If he felt indignant over her tone, he didn't show it. After Seto relieved her of Serenity's burden, Athena raced up the winding staircase to the upper level of the manor, opening every door that she passed to find Yugi.

There were a few servants lying in the corridor, but when Athena checked them, it was already too late. Athena knew her time was running out, and she had to find Yugi.

When she reached Yugi's bedchamber, she kicked the door in and made a quick sweep of the suite. Finding it empty, she moved to the adjoined door that led to her own suite and she quickly removed that obstacle.

She scoured the room, turning over furniture until she found Yugi underneath her bed. She pulled Yugi out and felt for a pulse. Her heart sank when she could not find one. Athena hoisted the boy into her arms, once again ignoring the burning pain her ribs caused, and she rushed toward the exit. Once she got outside, she dropped to her knees and started to do chest compressions, counting rapidly in her head before she pinched Yugi's nose and blew lifesaving air into his lungs. She continued to do this four times, heedless to the fire still going on behind her.

What seemed like hours, but was only twenty seconds, Yugi let out a light, shallow cough that succeeded a longer, harsher coughing fit.

"Oh, thank the gods." She breathed, and helped Yugi to sit up.

She scanned the rest of the courtyard, taking a headcount.

Seto had taken out several more servants, a few soldiers, and his uncle Raphael from the burning mansion, but Athena immediately picked up on the one missing link.

Shooting to her feet, she rushed for the manor once more.

"Athena no! The house is going to collapse any second!" Seto shouted after her.

"Forget it, I am not leaving her." She shouted back without breaking stride, and once more entered the mansion.

"Damn it all." Seto grumbled before he tried to follow after Athena, but just as Athena disappeared inside, a wall of fire roared up over the entrance, too thick and too hot to jump through.

* * *

Athena made it back up to the upper level, she continued search the upper level. She picked up on something. Faint and distant but definitely distinguishable, it was a voice crying out for help.

Athena followed the voice until it brought her to what appeared to be an attic.

Athena climbed up the ladder leading to the hidden door in the ceiling, sweeping the room to find Rebecca crouched in a far corner, shivering in fear, tears streaming down her face.

"Stay there and do not move. I am coming over." Athena said soothingly, and the young girl's head shot up at the sound of Athena's voice.

Athena carefully treaded over toward the terrified girl, and one time when she set her foot down, the floorboards caved beneath the pressure. She shuffled back to keep from falling, but the hole that separated Athena from Rebecca was gaping, and it proved that the floor after that spot was just as decayed. Athena refused to let herself panic as she scanned the uppermost level of the mansion for anything she could use. She found an overturned box with lengths of rope. She grabbed one and as she held one end, she tossed the other toward Rebecca, who caught it in her trembling hands.

"All right, Rebecca. Stand up nice and slow." Athena instructed as coaxingly as she could.

"I cannot."

"You can. I promise, I won't let anything happen to you. I will get you out of here, but you will have to trust me. Now come, stand up."

Rebecca's expression solidified into determination as she ever so gently pushed herself to a standing position.

"Good girl, now take small steps toward me. That-a-girl." Athena continued as she watched Rebecca walk toward her. She took about five small steps before the floorboards beneath her began to creak threateningly.

"All right. Now jump." Athena ordered, her voice not leaving any room for argument.

"But I cannot."

"I do not want to hear you say that again. Just trust me. Jump." Athena commanded, her tone hardening.

Rebecca gulped in fear but nodded as she slowly bent her knees for leverage and then she launched herself over the hole and Athena caught the girl against her, stumbling slightly under the other girl's weight and the excruciating pain in her ribs. With Rebecca's momentum, Athena shuffled backward the way she had come, pulling Rebecca with her as she got back toward the hidden door. Athena dropped to her stomach and lowered Rebecca through the door and set her on her feet below before she pulled herself through the opening, and she landed in a crouch on the floor.

"Come on, lets get out of here." Athena said as she grabbed Rebecca's hand and started to run back toward the entrance hall with Rebecca struggling to keep up.

Before they reached the staircase going toward the entrance hall, they found their path blocked by Kalim, looking singed from the heat, but smirking like a maniac.

"We meet once again, darling Athena. I believe I have a score to settle with you." He spoke smoothly, mockingly.

Athena growled low in her throat before she nudged Rebecca behind her, "Head back toward my suite. Go out onto the balcony and you'll find a rope tied up to one of the railings. Use that and climb down, head around to the front courtyard and stay there with the others." She instructed.

"But what about you."

"That does not matter right now." Athena hissed, Rebecca gasping at being the focus of Athena's dynamite temper for once. "Just do as I say." She barked.

* * *

With new-forming tears trickling down her face, Rebecca whirled and did as Athena demanded, her heart pounding a mile a minute in her chest.

She made it to Athena's suite and found the rope that had been tied to the last spoke of the railing, unaccustomed to the action, Rebecca awkwardly lowered herself over the railing, taking the rope in her hands as she slowly shuffled down its length until she lost her grip and dropped the last three feet to the ground. She landed on her backside.

Rebecca groaned as she rubbed the abused area before she got up on her feet and rushed around to the front of the mansion to find most of the residents already out front.

Seto saw her first, "Where is Athena?" He demanded.

"She is still inside! There was this man there and he cut us off. She told me to get out by way of rope from her bedchamber balcony." Rebecca lowered her head, ashamed of her cowardice.

"What!? That stupid chit!" Seto raged, equally aimed toward both Athena and Rebecca, but mostly toward Athena. How dare she think so little of herself!

Just as Seto had worked up the resolve to try and get through the fire blocking his way to Athena, the mansion started to collapse.

"ATHENA NO!" Yugi screamed at the sight, his eyes swimming with tears.

Seto ground his teeth as he witnessed the manor breaking down to its foundation, with Athena still stuck inside. A burning ache began low in his stomach at seeing such a horrible sight.

* * *

The fire brigade picked through the shambles of what had once been Wellingshire Manor. Seto, Yugi, Raphael, Rebecca, and Mokuba all stood by as the individual authorities searched the ruins for any sign of their companion. Bitterness welled within Yugi as he watched the scene. It had been over two hours since the mansion had collapsed, and the fire brigade only made it out to the property half an hour ago. Athena had been right; Englishmen were lazy fools, only caring for themselves. If the fire brigade had been here earlier, Yugi would not have to handle all of this pain and anger bubbling up inside. Athena would be standing right beside him now, coaxing him into a state of relief, whispering encouragements that things will turn out all right. She would say that accidents like these happen everyday and it had nothing to do with his coming to live with these people…

Yugi closed his eyes tightly as he tried to fend off the unnecessary guilt, the tears that seemed to be falling endlessly throughout the afternoon and into the evening. He hated waiting. He wanted Athena here with him now, not missing or, God forbid, dead.

He bowed his head, and his tears leaked through his eyelids, and he sobbed quietly, his breath hitching as he struggled to keep people from noticing him weeping.

An arm draped across Yugi's shoulders and pulled the boy into their side. Yugi looked up and found that it was Seto of all people offering him comfort…and he seemed to look worse off than Yugi.

His expression was incredibly unreadable, that was for sure, but it was his eyes that betrayed his true feelings. Seto's cerulean blue eyes were echoing a deep pain that he had been inflicted with since seeing the mansion fall. The suspense must be getting to him too. His hands clenched so tight that they began to tremble, and Yugi saw Seto's Adam's apple bob slightly in Seto's through as he swallowed in his anxiety.

"Do you think that she made it out, Seto?" Yugi asked. He did not want to believe that Athena was gone forever…like his mama and papa. He desperately scrambled for some kind of hope.

It took Seto a long while to answer him, so long that Yugi began to believe Seto would not answer him at all.

When he did, his voice was quiet but sounded slightly strained, "I do not know…but she is strong for a woman. Fire may not be enough to bring her down."

Yugi tried to smile, thinking that Seto's reply was better than outright saying that she was. It served to give Yugi a little comfort, but not a lot.

They watched a little longer as the fire brigade members pushed aside wood and spackle aside, still searching.

As they began to feel like they would not find anything that night, since the sun was quickly setting and darkness would soon engulf them, a single voice rang out, "I found another body. This one obviously did not die by fire."

As those words were spoken, Seto and Yugi could swear they could hear an eerie, mocking laughter rising up through the night, masculine and harsh. Well…someone was happy this night…

Yugi buried his face against Seto's side, as he wept into Seto's tunic.


	13. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters from the anime. I do own the plot, the late Wellingshire Manor, the Henderson Manor, Leonardo Marrison, the noble titles, and Yami's female persona. **

* * *

**Chapter Twelve**

The body they had found was female, but due to the massive damage the fire had dealt to her, it was impossible to make out a clear identification on who this woman had been. She was the same height and build as Athena, but with those foreboding details and Athena's disappearance, it did nothing to reassure them that Athena had somehow survived.

With Wellingshire in ruins, Raphael began preparations to move everyone to his summer mansion outside of London.

Yugi grew distraught over this.

"We cannot leave. If Athena is alive, she will not know how to find us! What if Athena is injured and needs our help? We cannot leave without knowing for certain that Athena is alive or dead." Yugi protested.

"Yugi," Isis began, but she had no idea how to help Yugi cope in this sort of situation. Athena had held priority over Yugi, and she had done her job so well that Isis never learned. "We cannot stay here either. It is too dangerous."

"Who is in more danger now?" Yugi argued, "At least we have each other to help protect us. Athena could be out there alone, and we owe it to her to at least make an attempt to look for her. She risked her life for every single one of us. If there is even the slightest possibility that she might have survived, we cannot abandon her. I for one refuse to leave until I see solid evidence that Athena is either dead or alive."

Slightly put to shame by Yugi's passionate resolve, no one spoke for a while. Finally, Raphael asked, "All right, but then where will we stay until we do find this evidence?"

Yugi trembled as his anger and grief welled inside him, "I do not know, but I do know we cannot leave here yet."

A large hand came to rest on Yugi's shoulder, and the boy looked up to find Seto towering over him, his cold cerulean eyes glaring at all in attendance, with the exception of Yugi and Rebecca, who was weeping silently on the ground to Yugi's right.

"My mother's house is not far from here, we can stay there for now."

Yugi smiled, understanding that he did have someone on his side in this.

"But you haven't gone there since…since you were still a toddler." Mokuba pointed out.

"I know that, but Yugi's right. We cannot leave here without proof of Athena's fate."

They were all stunned that Seto Henderson, a man who had become renown for his disdain of all things female, was now speaking out in defense of one.

Unable, and partially unwilling, to find argument with this, Raphael nodded, "All right then, prepare to leave for Henderson Manor."

* * *

As time went on and there was still no sign of Athena, dead or alive, even Yugi was beginning to lose faith that she had survived. It had been three weeks since the day of the fire, and Yugi that that if Athena was still alive, she would have turned up much sooner than this. She would not worry him as she was if she could prevent it.

He knew he should not doubt her like this, and he knew how strong Athena was, but she was also human. She had spent quite some time in that burning building, and if she had managed to make it out before the manor collapsed, who knew how badly she had been injured. Perhaps she had succumbed to her wounds during that first night while she was trying to regroup with them. Or maybe she had contracted hypothermia after being outside in the freezing cold all night long and had frozen to death.

Yugi mentally slapped himself over his lack of faith. Perhaps she was something a lot less dismal that was holding Athena up. After all, although they have not found her still alive, they also have not found anything to prove she was dead either. He needed to believe that Athena was still out there somewhere, tearing up the city of London trying to find him.

What really bothered him was that these English nobles were doing next to nothing about looking for Athena. Yeah, the first two days after the fire, Raphael had sent men to search the forest surrounding what had been the Wellingshire Manor had been, but when they could not find any trace of Athena after the second day, they had all but given up. At the moment, the only reason Raphael has not reversed his decision and moved them to his summer mansion was because he would then be going against Seto, who was equally adamant in his resolve to them here as Yugi was, and only a fool went against Seto's explicit wishes.

Rebecca was the final one who seemed to genuinely be concerned about Athena's fate. Although she was silent in her worry, you could see it in the way she would push her food around on her supper plate with her fork, gazing dazedly at a specific place on the tablecloth just to the left of her water goblet. Or how Rebecca would go to her bedchamber early some nights and she would hug the book Athena had given her to her chest as she wept quietly. That had been the reason Rebecca was the last one out, she had went back to her suite to grab her book. Yugi sincerely hoped that Rebecca was not blaming herself for what had happened to Athena. Yugi knew about this because Rebecca sometimes forgot to shut her bedchamber door all the way, and Yugi had to pass her suite to get to his own. His chest tightened every time he saw her like that, and he would try his best to comfort her when he can. Sometimes he would go into her suite and just sit on the edge of her bed, just to give her the company of someone who understands her pain. Other times he would hug her and hold her, humming the song Athena always sang to him when he was upset or when he had trouble getting back to sleep after a night terror. In this, Yugi had become close friends with Rebecca, and in Athena's absence, Yugi would help teach Rebecca how to read. It also gave Yugi something to take his mind off of the dismal circumstances they were going through right now.

"She will turn up. You can count on that." Yugi had told her the previous night that Rebecca had gone to her suite to mourn Athena. "We have to have faith in her." Sometimes he confused himself about who he was saying that for, Rebecca or himself?

* * *

Seto pulled his stallion to a stop in front of the Henderson Manor late in the evening after one more day of fruitless searching. He wondered at times why he even bothered, but still, every morning he saddled his stallion and he would head out in search of some sign of Athena. He even went into London's underbelly, remembering how well versed she was within those streets and alleyways. He had gone to Tristan's home and had asked for her there, but Tristan honestly had no clue as to where Athena had gone, and even if he did know, he would not tell Seto. It impressed him a little that Tristan held such loyalty for Athena, even though Seto knew she paid him for his service.

He went through the process of cooling his stallion out when he saw something out from the corner of his eye. Turning his head, he found a bay gelding that had not previously been housed in the stall two doors down and across the way from Seto's stallion's stall. He set the wire brush down on the small shelf built into the side of the stall and stepped out of the door to cross over to the gelding. He scanned the horse with a critical eye and found that he was well-groomed and had already been fed and watered for the night.

"Where did you come from?" He wondered aloud.

The horse seemed familiar to him, but for the life of him he could not place where he might have seen this gelding before.

Behind him, he heard his stallion stomp his foot on the ground with a hollow thump before he snorted in a way that sounded similar to a growl. Seto spun, saw that his stallion had his ears flattened against his neck and looking toward the front of the barn. Again, Seto turned to see what might have piqued his horse's ire, and found nothing.

"Are you seeing things now? Or are you just jealous that I was paying attention to another horse for a millisecond instead of you?" Seto mocked lightly.

As if in answer, the stallion counted with his hoof against the floor and trumpeted his distaste at being insulted. He tossed his head toward the door of the barn, and to appease the horse, Seto walked toward the entrance to the barn. It was pitch black outside, and Seto grabbed a nearby lantern and shined it out as far as it could go.

"Stupid horse…" He murmured as he did not see what had triggered such a reaction in his stallion.

He went back inside and finished grooming his horse before putting the tack in the tack room and went inside the manor.

Serenity had set aside supper for Seto, and he took the plate of food up to his bedchamber to eat, all while still wondering what had gotten into his horse.

After he finished eating, he heard a light tapping at his door, and when he called out admittance, the door opened and Yugi poked his head inside.

"Did you find anything?" He asked, as he did every night Seto returned from his search.

"No, nothing yet," Seto replied, and he could see the crestfallen expression replace the modicum of hope the boy had on his face. "Hey, do not worry. She is out there, and soon I will bring her back to you. If nothing else, do not doubt me in this. I will not give up."

"I know, it is just that Rebecca and I are not sure how much longer the others will wait until they give up on her. And honestly, I am beginning to lose heart in this too."

So was Seto, but he would not admit it, "And again, at least have faith in me. One way or another I will find her and bring her back, whether it is that she is still alive or if I am carrying her dead body."

Yugi nodded, but the helplessness on his face was still firmly in place.

Quietly, Yugi pulled Seto's bedchamber door closed, and Seto stood and stretched before he removed his tunic and turned out the lantern on his bedside table. He toed his shoes and socks off and crawled under his covers to rest for the night before he resumed his search once again in the morning.

* * *

He was not certain how long he had been asleep when he was jolted of his slumber with a start. He was not sure what had caused him to come awake, but for a moment, Seto lay on his back in his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

He felt a chill on his bare skin and turned his head to see that his balcony doors were open slightly. Tossing the covers aside, Seto got up to close the door so that he could go back to sleep. The transparent, white curtains in front of the doors billowed slightly in the breeze, and as Seto drew closer, he could see a silhouetted figure standing out on his balcony, partially concealed by his curtains. The third-quarter moon hovered high overhead, illuminating the figure with silver light, and his breath caught in his throat at seeing the ghostly specter.

He opened the balcony doors further and stepped out onto the balcony a little, his eyes narrowing to try and make out the figure's feminine features.

"Athena?" He said in a hushed tone of voice. The figure stepped forward a little, causing the light from the moon to cross over her face and revealing to Seto that this was indeed Athena. He was so stricken in shock that he could not form words for several minutes.

When he finally found his oice, he frowned at the odd warmth spreading through his chest, "What are you doing, sneaking onto my balcony like a common thief?" He demanded, his voice still quiet.

"It serves my purpose well enough. I hear you have been searching for me. I must insist that you cease doing so." Athena answered.

"Why is that? Have you any idea how worried Yugi and Rebecca have been over your disappearance?"

Sadness crept over her face, and she nodded lamely, "I do, and I will see them both before I leave here, bit I cannot allow anyone else to know that I live."

"And why is that?" Seto wondered.

"Because I need _them_ to believe that I am dead."


	14. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters from the anime. I do own the plot, Henderson Manor, the titles, Leonardo Marrison, the late Wellingshire Manor, and Yami's female persona. **

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen**

"You mean that you cannot allow those who want you dead to know that you are still alive? So you planned to frame your own death from the start, didn't you?" Seto questioned.

Athena sighed slightly before shaking her head, "No, it was not part of my plan, but if I am going to tell you the rest of this, could I at least come inside. It is freezing out here."

Seto stepped aside and motioned for her to come in, and Athena immediately moved to enter the warmth of Seto's bedchamber. She moved toward his chair and lowered herself into it while Seto went to settle on the edge of his bed, "So then, tell me what happened. How did you get out of there before the manor collapsed?"

"Well, as I am sure you were told, I was cut off from the exit by a man named Kalim. He is an Egyptian mercenary who has taken on my case for Marrison. Since you were not so accommodating to Leonardo's schemes, he chose somebody with a huge grudge against me to do the job for you."

"Why does he have a grudge?"

"I am getting to that, if you would just be silent for a little while longer." Athena snapped quietly, her eyes narrowing into a glare that could barely be seen through the din of the moonlit midnight darkness.

"All right, I am listening."

"Well, as you know, I went into the mansion once more to find Rebecca and take her out before the house crumbled under the barrage of the fire. We were nearly to the entrance hall when Kalim showed himself."

* * *

_Athena growled low in her throat before she nudged Rebecca behind her, "Head back toward my suite. Go out onto the balcony and you'll find a rope tied up to one of the railings. Use that and climb down, head around to the front courtyard and stay there with the others." She instructed. _

"_But what about you." _

"_That does not matter right now." Athena hissed, Rebecca gasping at being the focus of Athena's dynamite temper for once. "Just do as I say." She barked. _

_With new-forming tears trickling down her face, Rebecca whirled and did as Athena demanded._

"_You try to protect a worthless girl? From all I have heard about your ruthlessness, this seems a little out of character for you, Athena. After all, you are a cold-blooded murderer from the moment you breathed your first breath, and you continue to steal the lives of others just to prolong your own miserable life." Kalim said, the false charm he once possessed in his voice replaced by a deep-seated hatred. _

"_I do not know what you mean." Athena protested, her eyes scanning the hall for a way to get around Kalim._

"_Oh, but I know that you do. I know all of your dirty little secrets, young Athena. How you went and massacred the children of your homeland, how you had brutally slain your own father, how you had killed your mother after she gave you life. Everywhere you go, Athena, death will always follow until it can finally swallow you into its underworld. I intend to be the one who finally stops your reign of bloodshed." _

"_You can try." Athena growled, her throat tightening from the billowing smoke around him, her hair, clothes, and skin becoming singed from the flames that surround them, "In case you have not noticed, we are not in the appropriate stage in order to fight."_

"_I do not care if I die in this house. At least I will know that you would have died along with me, and one more evil being is wiped from the face of this world."_

_Kalim charged at Athena, and with a flick of her wrist, she unsheathed the sword from her where it was sheathed at her waist and she met Kalim's charge head on. Steel clashed against steel as the came together in a violent flurry of parries and lunges, each one dancing an intricate, beautiful death dance around the other, each matching the others' steps blow for blow, step for step. _

_Kalim gripped Athena's wrist, locked it, and kicked Athena back all while prying the sword from her hand. Athena rolled as she hit the ground and was immediately back on her feet. As Kalim brought the sword down toward Athena's head, Athena raised her arm, and a silver vambrace adorned upon her right forearm deflected the blade away from its lethal path. Athena grabbed Kalim's wrist and punched her fist up into Kalim's elbow, the force of the punch snapped Kalim's arm to an unnatural position. As he was momentarily incapacitated, Athena wrenched her sword back from Kalim's limp grasp and she moved to behead the man when something solid slammed into her from behind. Unable to maneuver herself for a steady landing that she might have been able to take advantage of, Athena landed facedown on the floor. She tried to roll onto her back to get a good look at the newest assailant, but one of her arms were pulled back behind her into a position that nearly tugged her shoulder out of its socket. She moved her body in the same direction her new enemy was pulling her arm, untangling herself and bringing her clenched fist down on the side of this new assailant's kneecap. _

_There was a feminine scream of pain, and Athena snapped her head up to find that Akiza was standing over her, albeit unstably, and without much thought, Athena wrapped her legs around Akiza's neck and jackknifed her body. There was a sickening snap as Akiza's neck was broken, and the former harlot collapsed to the ground, landing half on top of Athena. _

_Before Athena could get Akiza off of her, she heard Kalim's ominous battle cry and just as Kalim would have made contact with her still grounded form, the floorboards gave under his weight and he fell into the pool of flames on the first floor of the mansion. _

_Slowly getting to her feet, Athena moved toward the staircase, only to find the front door was blocked off by the fire. She turned and made for her bedchamber, and as carefully as she could, she ran for the balcony. _

_Just as she reached her suite, she too fell through the floor, but Athena managed to grab hold of the side of the wooden floors now over her head. She could hear scuffling sounds beneath her, and she knew that Kalim was still alive and making his escape. Athena lost her grip from her right hand, and although she tried to reacquire her grip, the floorboards would continue to slide out from her hand. _

_Running out of options, she briefly wondered if this was how she was going to die. After everything that she had gone through, the things that she had survived through, to die in a flaming building that was about to fall down on her head. _

_As if some unseen thread pulled her gaze, she glanced down toward the floor below her, then to the wall on both sides and in front of her. The window right in front of her was at a short enough distance that she might be able to reach, but it would still be at least an eight-foot fall either way. Try and jump through broken glass or fall into the fiery depths below her. In her mind, there was no choice. As quickly but carefully as she could possibly be, she began to swing her body, still holding on by one hand as the other hung uselessly at her side. Damn, Akiza must have really done some damage to the ligament when she yanked on her arm the way she had. _

_When she felt that she had enough swing, she counted in her head from three. Once she reached one, she swung herself forward, letting go of the floor, and propelled herself toward the window. She curled her body into a tight ball as she busted through the double-pane glass. Still falling, Athena unfurled from her ball and landed in a low crouch on the ground before her calves spasmed and she was pitched forward onto her stomach. She lay there for a few minutes, but looked up sharply when she heard the ominous creak of wood about to splinter and she tried to scramble out of the way, but a wooden plank fell and hit Athena hard on the back of her head, knocking her unconscious. _

* * *

"When I woke up, it was well into the night, and I was partially buried beneath the rubble of the mansion. My clothes had been ruined; I had broken my left clavicle, my left leg, and injured my ribs again. I had a minor concussion that I was not quite certain I would survive. I went to the stables and found that the horses were safe, but a little spooked. I took my gelding and rode as fast as I could toward the highlands to seek medical treatment. While I was there, I had a few of the highlanders keep an eye on your movements. That is how I knew that you were searching for me, and why I returned to tell you that you must stop. Try to come up with something, fabricate evidence of some sort, I do not care how you go about it, but make them believe that I really did die in that fire. As it is, Raphael, Mokuba, Mahado, Isis, Serenity, and the others are mostly convinced that I had died, but if you came up with a way to make it look even more believable, then they will believe completely about my death. I shall tell Yugi and Rebecca when I talk to them that they must continue to act as they have been these last few weeks."

Seto had leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and bowed his head slightly as he listened to Athena's explanation about the events that had transpired after Rebecca had made it out. He was shocked, to say the least, that someone would go to such lengths to kill one woman. It was absurd!

And all of this because one man got greedy and wanted to steal Yugi's fortune away, and just one woman stood between Marrison and his goal.

"All right, I will think of something, but promise me that once this whole ordeal is over, you will not make this little act reality. You promise me that you will not die for real while you go off and play guardian."

"I can only promise that I will try my hardest to survive, as I have always done. But in this, Kalim is cunning, and this is the second time I had escaped him by the skin of my teeth."

Seto paused at that, "Was this Kalim the one who nearly raped you that night before the fire?"

Athena frowned at the odd note in Seto's voice, but she nodded, "Yes, he is."

Athena saw Seto's fists clench tightly, so tight that his knuckles began turning white.

"When do you plan on leaving again?"

"Dawn is approaching fast, and I must be long gone before sunrise. I actually should be leaving now."

As Athena rose from her seat, she discovered that Seto had mirrored her action, and now they were standing toe to toe with each other.

"You will promise me that even if you do not survive this that you will at least have killed Kalim. Because if you do not, then I will," Seto warned.

"I do not care about Kalim's fate, or how he dies. Seto, your job is by far more important than worrying about me now. You must protect Yugi…and Rebecca too, from anyone who might pose as a threat to either of them." Athena announced, "I promised you something, now you do the same for me. Promise me that while I am gone, no harm will come to Yugi or Rebecca. If you must, leave London, have Raphael go to this summer mansion he spoke of, and when this is through, I will come and find you."

Seto's breath caught at the odd note in Athena's voice as she spoke those last few words. _I will come and find you._ It was as though she was talking specifically about him, and not the whole Wellingshire and company in general. Why this made him feel somewhat light, he did not know. All he knew is that he could not stop himself from doing what he did next.

He gripped Athena by her shoulders and pulled her body flush against his just before his mouth descended onto hers.


	15. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters from the anime. I own the plot, Henderson Manor, the titles, Yami's female persona, Leonardo Marrison, and the horses. **

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen**

Athena's mind went instantly blank at the contact of Seto's surprisingly soft lips pressing against her own. She could not move, could not think, could hardly breathe at the feel of Seto's solid frame pressed against her, his arms coming around to wrap around her in an embrace, Athena allowed her eyelids to slide closed and her hands came up to rest on Seto's waste as she awkwardly returned the kiss.

At the same time, Seto seemed to realize what he was doing and he shoved Athena away from him.

"What have you done to me, woman?" He demanded, slightly breathless and his heart hammered frantically in his chest.

"I have done nothing. It was you who made the first move." Athena replied, insulted by Seto's assumption.

Seto growled at her heated reply and he raised his hands as though he intended to strangle he, "I was perfectly content with my life until you came into it."

"Content? Really? Because that is not what I saw."

"Yes, I was just fine on my own."

"No, you were cowering behind your invisible wall that made you feel lonely and sad, but you were convinced that alienating yourself from the people who actually care about you and worry, just because you are afraid that if you let your guard down, you would get hurt once more."

Seto looked like he wanted to strike her, buthe knew that would be a foolish mistake.

"What would you know about it?"

This infuriated Athena. "You do not have the slightest inkling of what I have been through, so do not even try to tell me what I know." She ground out between clenched teeth, "Look around, Seto. See what you have? You have a home and a family who love you. You are accepted in your position in life, although you have tried your damnedest to sever that connection with your people. Your one enemy is dead and buried, but with the way you have been behaving, you would still think your tormenter's spirit is breathing down your neck. It is your own imagination and your wounded pride that keep you from living your life the way you deserve, and in that you are admitting that even with Vivian long gone, she has accomplished what she had set out to do in the first place. Let her die for good and move on."

Seto was seething at Athena's monologue, but he was not certain about who he was angry with. Without allowing him time to think of a reply, Athena continued.

"Do you know what I have? Nothing. Since my birth I have been shrouded in death and hatred. My father never acknowledged me, my people never accepted me, my own brothers and the children I had believed at one time were my friends had tried to kill me more times than I can count. I was five years old when I killed my first human. I killed my own father to escape his tyranny, and I was sent into exile where I wound up as a slave to the Romans. I was beaten, abused, and violated so much that I had damaged my vocal cords beyond repair and I had gone mad, and ended up murdering anyone and anything that I came into contact with while trying to escape. Men, women, children, freed men or enslaved, it did not matter to me in that state, but their screams still haunt me and all of my victims' blood still is soaked into my flesh so deep that no amount of bathing could ever wash it away. Right now, I still have people trying to kill me, but instead of running and hiding myself away as you have done, I will face Kalim head on, because if I do not, Yugi will be in danger or could even get killed. He is the only one I have left in this world. So do not come crying to me about your measley problems when most of them are self-inflicted. You will not find sympathy with me."

Seto was so overcome with shock over this revelation into Athena's past that he did not notice when Athena left his bedchamber. By the time he recovered, it was already too late to call her back. Athena was already long gone.

* * *

A gentle hand shook Yugi into wakefulness.

Groaning softly, Yugi turned his head and jolted upright in his bed when he saw Athena leaning over him.

"Athena!" Yugi cried out in joy, but frowned when Athena placed a finger against her lips and shushed the boy."What is going on?" He wondered at a quieter tone of voice.

"I do not have much time, sweetling. Go and wake Rebecca and bring her in here.I must speak with the both of you."

Yugi shot out from underneath his blankets to rushed to obey. He returned a few moments later with an equally excited Rebecca, both hurrying to get back to her. They found Athena sitting on the edge of Yugi's bed, and she crooked a finger toward her before patting the mattress beside her in invitation. Rebecca settled beside Athena and then leaned into Athena's side. Yugi quietly closed his door before launching himself intio Athena's arms to envelop her in an enthusiastic embrace.

"I have missed you both so much." She said in a light tone, chuckling softly as she wrapped one arm around Rebecca's shoulders and the other around Yugi's waist, and then she placed a maternal kiss on Yugi's cheek.

"Where have you been?" Yugi asked.

"How did you get out of that fire? Did that stupid man hurt you?" Rebecca wondered.

Athena's eyebrows quirked in response to Rebecca's choice of words, "I see you have grown in confidence." She commented.

"Yes, I did." Rebecca replied proudly, and Athena smiled at her, "I want to be like you."

"Well, at least the good parts, right?" Athena proded fun at the younger girl.

"You have yet to answer either of our questions, Athena?" Yugi pointed out a little impatiently.

Athena sighed before giving a revised version of what she had told Seto earlier, minus the life threatening portions and how close she really had come to dying in the end. "So once I had awakened from unconsciousness, I took my gelding and headed toward the Highlands for treatment."

"Why did you have to go so far away?" Yugi demanded.

"I had no choice, sweet. You see, that stupid man is still alive and is still searching for me. I could not risk coming back here with you and putting you all in danger again." Athena replied truthfully.

"But you do not put us in danger." Rebecca protested.

"Well, then just think of this as being cautious." Athena relented. No need to illucidate to these children the dire situation Athena had led to their doorstep.

"Why did you take so long to find us? Were your injuries that severe?" Yugi asked.

"I damaged my ribs, I broke my arm, my leg, and my collarbone, and had a few cuts and bruises. It was mostly the recuperation period that took so long."

Rebecca looked down at her hands before she buried her face into Athena's side, taking in the faint scent of wildflowers and sandlewood. It was a strange scent, but was appropriate for a woman like Athena, and smelt really good in all actuality.

Yugi was still a little upset that Athena had been injured so badly that it kept them apart for nearly a whole month.

"Listen to me, both of you." Athena said, pulling the teenagers' attention back to the present. "I cannot stay here with you just yet."

"What? Why not?" Yugi exclaimed, momentarily forgetting about Athena's earlier command to stay quiet.

Athena did not blame Yugi for his slip, and she allowed it before she pulled Yugi closer to her and held him, "No need to worry sweetling. I will not be far away. You see, as I told you before, that stupid man is still alive and is still after me. I _will _be putting all of you in danger. Until I can get rid of him, I will have to stay away from here. But, you have to pretend that you still think that I am missing."

"Athena." Yugi objected, "I do not want you to leave me again."

"Oh, Yugi. Trust me, I will not be far away. If you must see me again, I send an arrow into the tree outside your window, just there, and I will come to you as soon as possible. I am only trying to protect you, and you as well, Rebecca." Athena explained, hoping that they would understand. "Believe me, if the situation was different, I would not be doing this, but I must keep you safe. You are all that I have left, and I cannot bear to see either of you to get hurt if I could prevent it."

Yugi's large amethyst eyes welled with tears, and at her side she could feel her tunic growing moist from Rebecca's own tears.

"I need you both to be strong in the meantime, all right. I know this is hard. It is breaking my heart to do this, but I refuse to allow any harm to befall you, little one." Athena grabbed Yugi's hand and manipulated his finger until it touched the moisture of Athena's own tears that were trickling down her face. "Do you understand?"

Yugi gasped multiple times as he tried to regain some control, and when he realized he could not speak through his weeping, he nodded instead.

"Good." Athena smiled lovingly at the boy as her free hand gently rubbed Rebecca's back. "Come here and lie down. I will stay until you both fall asleep.

Athena watched as Rebecca and Yugi climbed into bed and once they were beneath the covers, Athena laid down beside them and stretched her arm across them. Yugi, who was closest to Athena, burrowed in close to her body as his face was buried in the crook of her neck.

"You promise that you will come back after that stupid man is gone?" Yugi asked in a drowsy tone of voice.

"You can bet that I will, sweetling." Athena replied.

Quietly, as Yugi settled himself against Athena, she began to sing her lullaby, her gentle medium soprano voice flowed over the teenagers, and while Yugi tried to fight sleep in hopes that it would postpone Athena eminate departure, Athena's voice was lulling him into a deep state of slumber. He slipped into sleep nearly at the same time Rebecca did.

Once Athena was sure that the two children were fast asleep, she kissed them both on their foreheads and whispered to both of them her wish that they would stay strong for her.

As the gray pre-dawnlight began to wash over the Henderson property, Athena carefully removed herself from Yugi's bed and made her exit as she had come, through Yugi's window. She saddled her gelding and mounted, her vision getting blurry as she stared up at Yugi's bedchamber window before it swung to Seto's. She brought her hand up to wipe the moisture away before she turned the gelding and urged him into an easy gallop, out of sight of the mansion.

* * *

The next morning, Seto went to Yugi's bedchamber to check on the boy, only to be slightly stunned to find Yugi and Rebecca sharing the bed. It was obvious that nothing preverted was going on between them, since both children were almost completely on opposite sides of the bed. It was slightly adorable, actually, although Seto would not admit it. Silently closing the door, Seto went back to his own suite.

It seemed that Athena had made a quick stop here before she left, after all. Just the thought of that infuriating, confusing, bewildering woman made Seto very uneasy. She threatened everything that Seto believed, and he could feel her influence prodding at the edges of his defense. The problemwas that Seto was not certain if he even wanted to defend himself against her, or rather if he ever could at all. Last night she shared something dark and deep with Seto, something that kept him from sleeping once he saw she had gone. Seto really could not fathom the kind of pain and humiliation that Athena had been put through. An exiled, bastard girl. An ex-slave who was viewed as a barbarian in most all of the remaining countried of the world. She was a murderess. Seto really did not know how to take this new information. He was slightly glad that he finally found something out about the woman, but he was not sure what he should do with the information.

In all honesty, what Athena had revealed to him about herself should have served as warnings to him. His aunt had seemed like the model example of an English noblewoman, had seemed like a good wife and mother, she had elegence and grace and poise that never revealed to anyone her true malevolent nature. Athena had thrown all of her dirty secrets at him, no holds barred, and yet even now, Seto could feel himself being drawn into her web. He just was not certain if what she was leading him into was for the good or if she would finish what Vivian had begun.

All things considered, she had been correct about one thing...it was about time he stopped hiding. So, Seto bathed and dressed himself before going to the kitchens where Serenity was busily prepping to begin breakfast.

"Good morning." He said in a low voice.

Serenity whirled around and placed her hand against her heart, "Oh my, you startled me, Lord Henderson." She said in a winded tone before she collected herself and smiled kindly at him, "Good morning to you."

He nodded before he moved toward his uncle's study off to the right of the entrance hall. Firmly wrapping on the door, Seto heard a muffled word of admittance coming from the other side.

Raphael smiled warmly at his nephew's presence, "Well, this is a pleasant surprise." He commented, sounding genuine.

"Tonight is the Jefferson's galla, is it not. I would like to accompany you, if you would permit."

Raphael looked about to keel over from shock, "What was that you said, Seto?"

"I would like to accompany you to Baron and Baroness Jefferson's galla this evening."


	16. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters from the anime. I do own the plot, Henderson Manor, the previous Wellingshire Manor, Leonardo Marrison, the horses, the titles, and Yami's female persona. **

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen**

The resurface of Seto Henderson was in many conversations throughout the members of the ton. The young women of the ton and common people alike all tried their hardest to get the illusive young Earl to notice them, as they had years prior when they tried to attract him in hopes that he would ask for their hand in marriage. Although his scarred physique was startling and sometimes unsightly to the gentle ladies, they tended to look beyond the looks to what lay behind the young Earl; his title and his fortune that was renown to have been left untouched even after he reached his majority.

Even though this annoyed Seto to no end, it was oddly refreshing. Nothing really changed, and that was quite possibly a good thing, since those who were obviously after his money and title were rather demure and dainty and squeamish about their true motives. Most were so blatant in their greed that Seto could read them like an open book and knew exactly which ones to keep his eye on, but not in the fashion many of the ladies would have preferred.

Two weeks had past since the night Athena had come into his bedchamber and commanded him to stop searching for her in hopes that the inaction would be a sign to her enemies that she supposedly had perished in that fire a fortnight ago. Yugi and Rebecca had been holding up remarkably well, and while in the presence of the public and even among the inhabitants of Henderson Manor, both put up quite the act in their mourning of Athena.

What surprised Seto the most was that where ever he would go now, whether it be to town or to another boring formal gala, he found himself unconsciously scanning his surroundings as though he was searching for something…no for someone. He would not delude himself in believing that he was not aware that it was Athena he would subconsciously be seeking out in the crowds.

He missed her constant challenge. He found it refreshing that any woman could stand her ground at the same hateful glare of his that sent a multitude before her scurrying to the nearest hide hole. He missed their verbal and mental sparring, the way a single word she said could send him skittering over the edge of reason or could even be enough to pull him back from the edge of insanity.

There were times where Seto could almost feel that she was there with them. It was like barely seeing an elusive phantom out of the corner of his eye, and yet whenever he turned to get a better look, he saw nothing. It was both disheartening and a little infuriating. Seto could not understand why he almost needed to see her again, and he did not understand the sinking feeling in his gut whenever he realized that Athena was nowhere to be seen.

At the moment, Seto sat at a long, rectangular table, with Yugi on his right and Rebecca on his left as the three of them tried to get through the remainder of Count and Countess Crawford's annual autumn formal ball. Seto had been told that the festivities would last only until midnight, and so Seto felt that he might be able to endure the tedious flirtations and endless confusing frustrations taking up refuge in his overactive mind. It was now two hours past midnight, and the gala showed no real signs of drawing to an end.

Yugi and Rebecca had alternated between sitting at the table with Seto and being out on the ballroom floor, dancing with other teenaged children to pass the time. It created a sort of illusion that they were still mourning for their lost friend and guardian, but they were slowly trying to move on in their lives. Seto was proud of their performances, but he had to wonder how much longer they would have to keep this act up. The children were now seated at the table, both trying to keep awake in respect for the gala's host and hostess, but it was a losing battle.

Seto was nursing a pleasant buzz from a couple of goblets of wine he had consumed in his attempts to dull his boredom. He wisely kept himself from becoming intoxicated by the substance so that he could still keep an eye out for danger toward the two exhausted teenagers sitting beside him, but it was difficult to stave off the temptation of trying to become drunk. The only thing stopping him was that if he allowed himself to slack off in his duty in protecting Yugi and something did happen to the boy while Seto is incapacitated, he could never face Athena again. That and if Athena was somewhere nearby where he could not see her, he would feel humiliated that he would show such weakness in front of her.

He leaned his head back against the headrest of his chair and closed his eyes, just a momentary escape from this torment. The music faded as one song ended and another started back up again with the soft sound of violins flooding the ballroom. Seto had to admit that he did find the music of these formal events rather soothing. He had always liked the sound of violins especially. It reminded him of his mother, Kisara, who had been a brilliant violinist before Vivian had killed her.

As he listened, the cellos melted in with the violins, and as he felt himself relaxing, he felt a presence come up beside him. He could feel something being pressed into his hand. A voice, soft and low, whispered to him, "Meet me outside in half an hour."

Seto's eyes snapped open as he stared down at the full goblet of wine in his hand before he scanned the ballroom around him for the source of that voice, making sure not to move his head as he did. Slowly, he raised the rim of the goblet to his lips and he sipped the sweet red wine as he continued his search, but as he lowered the goblet, he realized that the speaker was gone.

He turned to look at Yugi and Rebecca, but both were slumbering away in their seats and had missed her. Savoring the glass of wine, he waited until three more songs had played to their end before he stood and made his way toward the double, towering, glass doors that opened up onto the dais.

He did not see her at first, not until she spoke off to his left, "What are you doing here, Henderson?"

Seto turned toward the source of the voice, but even though he could make out the outline of her form, she was well enveloped in the shadows of the night, and added to her black clothing she was virtually invisible.

"I could ask you the same question. Was it not you who said that you had to keep incognito, Athena?" Seto asked.

"Hush," Athena hissed, "My being here is one thing, but do not go spouting out my name so freely. You are not very good at preserving my cover."

"It seems you aren't either." Seto countered, feeling strangely relieved for this latest battle of wits.

Athena shifted as she rested her hip on the railing of the dais, which made it a little easier to see her since she was further out away from the building, and the silvery light from the waxing third-quarter moon silhouetted her slender form. She crossed her arms over her chest as she glared slightly at Seto.

Finally she spoke, gesturing to the ballroom with a nod of her head, "Marrison is in there. I have been tracking him all night, but the bastard has never been alone throughout the length of the gala."

At Athena's ominous announcement, Seto instinctively turned to look in at Yugi and Rebecca. Mokuba had made his way to their table and was now keeping an eye on the two teenagers, and then he realized that had anyone dared come anywhere close to Yugi or Rebecca, Athena had been there. Even at the cost of losing her edge and revealing that she had survived the fire, she would protect her young charge to the death. He felt a little foolish for worrying, but now another concern haunted him. _How did I not see him? _

"How did you know he would be here tonight? He has not attended any of the other formal events the ton has been hosting, so why come out into the light now?" Seto wondered aloud.

"Because Baroness Crawford is Marrison's longtime mistress. He would not have missed this for anything, and since he believed that he was safe, Leonardo did not see any need to keep his head down any longer. His mistress's pride was at stake."

Seto heard the growl underlying Athena's voice as she spoke, and he could tell that she disapproved of unfaithfulness. He heard that Spartans, back in the ancient times, had shared their wives with other men to produce children that would make the best warriors, and since Athena is a self-proclaimed descendent of the Spartans, it was odd that she held such hostility toward this sort of thing. However, Seto had learned long ago that Athena is unlike any other person.

"Why have you called me out here?" Seto wondered.

"I need you to take Yugi and Rebecca home. What were you thinking keeping those children out so late at night?" She demanded, her ire redirecting toward him.

"I did not expect this gala to go on so long." Seto offered in response.

"That is no excuse. They should have been back at the manor hours ago, whether the party did not end at midnight the way it should have. And on that note, why have _you_ come to these galas?" Athena scolded.

Seto frowned at the heat that he could feel collecting in his cheek. He deemed that it was because of the biting late-might wind rather than the result of Athena's rightful reprimanding. "I was following your advice and I am trying to move on with my life." He snapped.

"When I told you to move on, I had no intention of having you torture yourself." She replied, her tone light and Seto could hear the teasing laugh in her voice.

Seto turned his head to look out toward the pitch-dark landscape below the dais, just so that Athena could not see the slight lifting at the corners of his lips.

"You could have been a little more specific then." Seto said.

"It would seem I should have." Athena agreed before the two lapsed into a companionable silence.

As Athena looked in toward the ballroom to watch the two children who were both slumped in their seats, with Yugi slouched in his seat and his head cocked to the left while Rebecca was leaning toward the right with her elbow up on her armrest and her cheek propped on her loosely clenched fist to keep her upright, but from the way she kept leaning heavier on her hand, Rebecca would soon lose her balance and she might hurt herself if she did.

Seto, on the other hand, took the time to take in Athena's silent form across from him. She had become a little thinner, and even with the minimal light the moon let off, Athena's skin looked a little paler than usual. He wondered if it was because she had not been getting enough sleep lately, or if the coldness of the nights out in the open were making her ill. Even so, she looked pretty well for having been out on her own for the last month, and considering her previous injuries from the Wellingshire Manor collapsing on her, she looked fit. She wore a crimson tunic, black vest, and black trousers that matched the uniform of the servants who were handling the refreshments and serving the guests throughout the ball. Her hair was bound into a queue at the back of her neck, the strands strategically arranged so that only the black of her hair was shown. In this fashion, she looked rather like a youthful young man rather than a woman, and it seemed to have done the trick because even Seto had not recognized her.

"So then, Seto, would you take the children home before they get caught in the middle of what is to happen?" Athena asked.

"Yes, I can. What are you planning on doing?" Seto wondered.

"I am going to end this once and for all. No matter what it takes, Marrison will be six feet under the ground by morning."


	17. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters from the anime. I do own…practically everything else that isn't related to Kazuki Takahashi's creation. And that includes Yami's female persona. There is one more OC in this chapter, because I couldn't find an original YGO character to fit the role. She dies quickly here, so don't worry about her sticking around. **

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen**

Yugi came awake slowly to the sensation of being lightly shaken. He looked around the unfamiliar room, trying to remember where he was before glancing up at the one who awakened him.

"Come on, Yugi. I will take you back to the house." Seto said.

Yugi rubbed his eye with a lightly fisted hand and nodded sleepily as he stood up and used the back of his chair as a brace until he got his bearings. Seto woke Rebecca up next, and after exchanging a quick word with Mokuba, Seto ushered the teenagers out of the grand hall.

As Yugi became fully awake with each step, it occurred to him that Seto seemed strange, more than usual at least. When Yugi slowed down a little, he could feel Seto's hand on his back as he urged him to go faster. Something was not right. Yugi had half a mind to ask Seto what was happening, but before he had the chance, Seto hooked one arm around each of the teenagers' waist and he picked them up off the ground all but threw them into the carriage.

"Seto, what in the-"

"Mahado, drive." Seto barked before he climbed inside and shut the door behind him. "It is not safe for either of you to be here another minute more."

"Is it…Athena? Is she here?" Yugi asked, his voice a little too loud, because Seto placed his palm over Yugi's mouth.

"Hush, Yugi. And yes, Athena was here. She is planning on ending everything tonight."

"Ending?"

"Do not worry, Yugi. By morning, all will be all right again." Seto assured.

It was the strange look in Seto's eyes that made his assurances seem hollow to the boy, but he allowed the situation to drop, and dared to hope that he would have Athena back when he woke up in the morning.

* * *

Seto sat across from Rebecca and Yugi in the carriage. Rebecca had gone back to sleep almost immediately after she was inside the buggy. Yugi put up a bit of a fight, but he succumbed to his exhaustion and the two teenagers leaned their shoulders together as they dozed off, leaving Seto to his thoughts.

The young earl looked out the small window, his arm rested against the windowsill as he thought back to his meeting with Athena. Marrison was not a matter to worry about. Seto knew that Athena would not have trouble disposing of the bastard. No, Seto's concerns lie with the fact that Athena told him earlier that Marrison had not been alone the entire time he had been at the gala. Seto might have thought it was just other nobles conversing with the baron, but something did not seem right.

If Marrison was there at the ball, why hadn't Seto noticed him? Where had he been? Where had Athena been throughout the night? Her outfit suggested she was in disguise, but surely Seto would have noticed her had he seen her during the gala. And why did Athena come to him so late to tell him to take the children back to his family home if she could have told him earlier than that? What had held her up so that Athena would corner him at two o'clock in the morning? If Athena did not like Yugi and Rebecca to be there, then why hadn't she said something until it was already so late?

Why did Athena look so ill? She sounded a little off. The way she spoke had made Seto a little paranoid, hence the reason he had basically thrown the children into the carriage so that they could leave. If he was obeying Athena and putting the children's safety before his pride in taking orders from a woman, no matter if it had been Athena giving those orders, then why did he feel like he was abandoning her? Why did he feel cowardly for leaving the party, knowing that Athena planned to take Marrison out that night? Why did he feel more and more suffocated the closer he got to his home?

There were far too many questions of why and no answers to satisfy him. His right hand clenched into a fist as it rested on his thigh as a steady thrumming pain began collecting behind his temples. Seto had thought that he missed the mental sparring that Athena caused him, but this was not what he had meant when he wanted to battle with her again. If it wasn't for Yugi and Rebecca, Seto would have turned the carriage around and head back to the Crawford's mansion.

Unfortunately, he did have Yugi and Rebecca to consider, and with that, he knew that he could not do anything. Seto's mind flashed back toward the last thing Athena had said to him.

_Seto stared down into Athena's eyes as his narrowed at the gravity of her words. "You plan on killing him here?" _

"_If it is possible, yes. At the earliest possibility, I will make my attack. I will not allow Marrison to have one more night to which he threatens Yugi's safety."_

_With that, Athena started back toward the ballroom doors, but as he passed Seto, he could feel her brush against him, "Take the children away from here and keep a close eye on them until morning." She whispered and then she was gone, vanishing into the throng of dancers, nobles, musicians, and servants until Seto lost track of her. _

There was something hidden in her words. It would seem that Marrison had done something new to enrage the young woman to push her to such an extreme as to possibly strike out against the baron in public.

Seto could see his home in the distance, and he shook off the morbid thoughts about what Athena might be up to. He leaned over and shook the two children awake once again, "Come on, you two. You can sleep in your beds once you are both inside." He said in a sharp tone that had the teenagers awake and alert.

Seto swung the door closed and climbed out first, followed closely behind by Yugi and Rebecca, who shuffled their way inside the house. The moment they were inside, Seto escorted them to their room.

Ever since Athena had come and gone, like a spirit that could only exist during the night, Yugi and Rebecca had been sharing their room. Although when it was discovered it had triggered uproar, negotiations were made so that everyone felt more at ease about the arrangement. It never bothered Seto, since the two were innocent and to him, he believed that they thought it would be easier to keep watch over them for danger if they stayed in the same quarters. Tonight, it served Seto well, since he planned on watching over the pair until either Athena came back to the manor and everything was finished or until sunrise.

* * *

Athena watched from the library window, located on the third-story of the Crawford mansion as the buggy carrying Seto, Rebecca, and Yugi rode out of the long driveway and out into the cloak of night. It was only until the three were out of sight that Athena allowed herself to breathe easy. She did not have to concern herself with their safety during this fight.

Athena could hear the moans and sighs of Lola Crawford as Marrison became enthralled in his own pleasure, oblivious to the danger of what awaited him within the shadows of the room. Fifteen minutes ago, Marrison had stolen away with his mistress into the farthest reaches of the mansion in a room that Lola suspected none would happen upon them.

Athena silently closed and locked the windows and stealthily moved across the room, hiding among the rows of bookshelves, waiting until the opportune time to strike. It made her sick to have to listen to this faithless woman and the bastard Marrison, but she knew that she had no room for mistakes. The best chance to defeat Leonardo was now, and although she would have to kill the Baroness as well, that was a sacrifice that Athena was more than willing to make. She had met Baron Crawford, and he came off as a pleasant, decent man who loved his wife dearly. It pained her to know that most people did not understand what their vows meant. Regardless of betrothal or any coercion used, marriage was meant to be sacred.

Athena could hear the couple beginning to approach their peak, and Athena began to move even closer until she had the pair in her sights. She scoffed silently. _How retched…_ She thought.

Marrison had pinned Lola to the wall, and he had hitched up the folds of the woman's skirt, and had taken her against the wall. They must have wanted to make this quick, since people might notice their absence if they drew out their pleasure.

_Well…no need to worry about your modesty._ Athena declared mentally as she unsheathed the lone palm knife at her waistband and threw it toward the singular lamp that kept the room illuminated. As the room was plunged into darkness, the couple exclaimed noises of surprise. Athena memorized their stances, and when she heard a pair of footsteps shuffling backward, she moved with lightning swiftness toward the lone figure still standing still against the wall. She gasped the older woman's head between her hands and Athena snapped Lola's neck.

* * *

"What the devil?" Leonardo breathed in shock as he reached out toward the sound of Lola's body being dropped to the floor.

He had made it back to the desk where the lamp had been and he felt the small knife that had made the wick blow out. With trembling hands, Marrison lit the lamp once more. He then turned to find Lola dead on the floor, but the assailant was nowhere to be seen.

"Who's there?" He demanded in a trembling voice.

He heard an ominous laugh before the voice of a dead woman said, "You are not so strong now, aren't you? Without your mercenaries to protect you, you are nothing more than walking carrion."

"Athena." He croaked in fear.

"You thought I could be killed off so easily? It would take a braver, stronger man than you to ever get the better of me."

Marrison felt a cold gust of wind go down his neck, and the man swung around as he tried to find the source of his tormenter.

"Show yourself, Athena!" He shouted, but the trembling in his voice made his command sound downright pitiful.

However, Athena stepped out from the shadows on Marrison's right, the most malevolent smile split her face. Her blood-like eyes froze Leonardo to the depths of his core as he turned and ran for the door. He grabbed the handle with both hands but he found it locked.

"Did you think I hadn't thought of everything? The only way for you to escape now is death. Whether it be by my hand or should you throw yourself out the window, you will not leave this room alive."

Marrison turned his head to look at Athena once more, his eyes wide as saucers as he saw an ornate brass key clenched between her thumb, index, and middle fingers. She wagged the key back and forth in a taunting manner before she pushed it into her trousers' pocket.

"However, if you can kill me before I finish you, then you might be able to leave. There is always that option; but from the look on your face, you know it in your soul that you can never hope to win against me." As Athena spoke this last sentence, her voice steadily lowered until it was a little more than a growl.

Marrison screamed, pounding on the door, hoping someone would hear him, but Athena's mocking laughter was his reward, "You can thank your mistress for the ideal rendezvous spot. Nobody would ever think to look for you here."

Marrison could pull the warmth of Athena's body as she stepped right behind him. He could feel her hand digging into his back, pressing his front against the door in front of him. Athena wore a set a silver claws on her right hand, and as she continued to press those razor-sharp points into his skin until Marrison could feel the warm slickness of his blood spilling down her back.

"Your first mistake was to think that you could ever harm Yugi in the first place."

Her claws dug deeper.

"Your second mistake was to hire an assassin to get rid of me, not just once, but twice if you count your attempt to force Seto to do as you command."

A little deeper; Marrison could feel those points scraping against his spinal column.

"Your third mistake was, by hiring Kalim to kill me, you forced me to have my precious charge make-believe that I had died in the fire your men set to Wellingshire Manor. Pity that your assassins failed to have me killed not once, but three times. That second attempt nearly cost Yugi and Rebecca their lives."

Those points pierced through the ribs around Marrison's spine. He gave a strangled scream at the pain.

"Your fourth mistake was to become overconfident and believing that a mere fire could kill me. Many others before you, and no doubt after you, have tried that method and many others, and none have succeeded in killing me."

Marrison could feel Athena's claws wrapping around his spine, he knew exactly what she planned on doing, and he struggled fruitlessly to get away.

"Your final mistake was forcing me to kill one more member of my family. Estranged or not, I do not wish to kill them, and Akiza was innocent in this. Kalim is a lost cause, I do not care now that he is my brother, but Akiza…she was still only a child, you bastard." She hissed those words in his ear.

Before he could let out another sound in the hope that someone might hear him and rescue him from this female lunatic, Athena's hand rotated and she wrapped Marrison's heart in her fist and she tore it out of his body.

* * *

As Leonardo Marrison's body slumped against the door, Athena crushed the man's heart into mush before she dropped it onto the man's corpse.

Putting out the light of the lamp, she dragged Marrison's body over beside Lola's and she left the two lovers there, unlocked the library door, and stole out into the long corridor.

"Hmm, and not a drop of blood on my uniform." She mused as she wiped hid her bloodied right hand deep inside her trousers pocket.

_One down, one more to go._


	18. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters from the anime. I do own pretty much everything else. I won't bore you with listing everything again. **

* * *

**A/N: In order to make sure that Athena's message is clear, I wrote it in italics and bolded the text. **

**Chapter Seventeen**

Seto sat in a large armchair in Yugi's bedchamber, staring unseeing out the window into the pitch-black night that had slowly begun to take on a navy-blue tinge as dawn approached. He had removed his jacket, cummerbund, vest, and tie to make him more comfortable, leaving them draped over the small table in front of the armchair. His legs hung over the edge of one of the arms, his fingers gliding over the edges of a folded-up piece of parchment he held between his fingertips, his thoughts becoming a chaotic wreak, realizing that dawn was nearly upon them and there was still no sign or hint of Athena's return. All manner of horrific scenarios filled his mind about the woman's fate.

It would seem that when Athena and Seto parted ways earlier, Athena had slipped the message into his jacket pocket when she brushed past him. Seto did not notice the parchment paper until he had removed his jacket and saw the paper flutter to the ground. Curious and a little wary, Seto had picked the parchment off of the ground, lit a lantern, careful to keep the wick dim enough so as not to disturb the children, and began to read. What he found chilled Seto to the core.

**"_I'm a murderer, and I am not ashamed of that fact. However, I do have my regrets. As I have told you before, I have been forced into situations where I cannot help but defend myself, to which someone's death occurs. In the beginning, I had been horrified with seeing life's blood on my hands, but throughout my life, I have been numbed to the sensation of taking a person's life. I can blame my father's heritage for my callousness toward killing, but I have no excuse for wearing my own family's blood on my hands too._**

**"_Tristan gave me some information a week ago that chilled me. He had met with Kalim without my knowledge and certainly not my permission, but then he is a man, and you men always think you know better than us women. This time I will admit that Tristan's actions were for the better. His information gave me a closer look into Kalim's backstory, and I have to say that I feel a little sorry for him. Kalim is my brother._**

**"_My father and some of the warriors of Lacedaemon marched to Egypt and massacred Kalim's and his family's town. Tristan was vague on the details…perhaps he did not feel like I should hear it all or Kalim simply did not tell him, but to be blunt, he hates all of the Lacedaemonians for their bloodlust and I have Lacedaemon blood within me. Even though he and I come from the same mother, he does not see any of her kindness or gentleness in me…and I believe that I may have lost what little purity I ever had. I am a blemish in his family tree, a link that connects Kalim to the people he loathes with everything within him._**

**"_The day Wellingshire Manor had collapsed, I fought Kalim until just before the building went, and during the fight, a second assailant came up behind me. In my bloodlust and with the adrenaline coursing through me, I attacked them and I killed them. It was not until after the fact that I realized I murdered a woman who was Kalim's younger sister. Akiza was a child…two years younger than I…three years older than Yugi…and I killed her. She was trying to protect her brother from me. I can justify that I would have easily taken Kalim's life without thought because he had targeted Yugi and he might have killed him, but Akiza had no part in his animosity with me, she was innocent. _**

**"_Since I learned this, I have seen that my battle skills have slackened quite a bit._**

**"_I know that when the time comes for me to finish Marrison, I will do so without any second thoughts and certainly without regret. However, when Kalim and I face each other again, I cannot say for sure that I might survive. If my regrets or my anger clouds my judgment, Kalim is swift enough and ruthless enough to end my life._**

**"_If this does happen, Seto, I wish to ask a favor of you. I know that you have become close with Yugi, and if I should perish, I hope that you would watch over him for me. Yugi has grown past the grief of losing his parents, and I have seen that the residents of your home have accepted him with open arms. I also know that he may be wounded by my death, but he will heal with time._**

**"_Do not think for a moment that I have given up, because without a doubt, I will do everything in my power to keep my promise with Yugi, Rebecca, and you to return once everything has been said and done. I just wish to make sure that Yugi is taken care of in case I do fall to Kalim._**

**"…_I do not know how to express my gratitude toward you for all you have done in my absence. The months that I have known you has been an experience that has changed me for the better, I believe. I have once thought I could depend on no one besides myself, but you have proven me wrong. I trust you with Yugi's care…and that is even more sincere than saying I trust you with my own. Every day has been another challenge and I have thoroughly enjoyed myself._**

**"_When I first met you, I hardly even wanted to let Yugi come close to you, considering your close-minded views on women. I wish to apologize for my rash judgment. I could not have done my duty to Yugi if it had not been for you. _**

**"_So thank you, Seto."_**

Time seemed to have lost all meaning once Seto finished reading Athena's message. In truth, he should feel sickened by Athena's lack of confidence, that she would even think of going back on her promise to return once everything with the Marrison fiasco was settled. But…he did not feel disgusted, or appalled, by her message. Instead, there was this heavy, hollow ache in his chest, caused by an emotion that was too foreign for Seto to put a name to. Nevertheless, it made him feel like he was choking as he thought of Athena's mangled, bloody corpse sprawled out someone within that never ending darkness of the night, Kalim's sickeningly satisfied expression sneering down at her body.

* * *

Seto must have nodded off somehow, because the next thing he knew, the sun was creeping slowly higher into the sky above the treetops of the conifers in the forest surrounding Seto's family home. Athena's note now rested upon Seto's thigh, and there was a slight clink in his neck from resting for two long at an uncomfortable angle. Glancing over toward the bed, Yugi and Rebecca slept peacefully on, oblivious to the morning.

Seto stood up and stretched his spine, groaning softly as it popped several times and he sighed at the pleasant, loose feeling in his body. As he listened, the house seemed oddly quiet. Raphael and his entourage who had gone to the Crawford's gala last night had not returned last night, which was understandable. He was not certain how long that party had dragged on for. However, the servants should have at least begun their morning routine by now.

An uneasiness fell heavy on Seto's shoulders as he moved toward the door to the corridor. He opened it and stepped outside, swinging his head to look in both directions in the hall before he locked Yugi's bedchamber door from the inside and carried a key with him, just for precaution, as he searched the mansion for any sign of life.

_Odd…_ Seto thought as he found no one was awake at all. Serenity was not in the buttery preparing breakfast, Mahado and Isis were not at their stations either. Even the gardeners and ranchers working outside were nowhere to be found.

Seto went back inside and made his way back to Yugi's bedchamber to assume his position when he heard a noise that seemed to have originated in the direction of Yugi's suite. Seto moved quickly, but silently, back toward the suite in time to find a cloaked stranger trying to pick the lock.

He knew immediately that it was not Athena. Athena would not use such methods in order to see Yugi, and even if she did have to use such sneaky tactics, she would not be making such a racket. The stranger was donned in a filthy black cloak, and was too tall and too masculine in build to be Athena, or any other woman for that matter.

Seto lunged for the stranger and tackled him to the ground. The cowl of the cloak fell back as they landed with Seto on top to reveal short black hair, copper-gold skin, kohl-rimmed obsidian eyes, and patrician features. Taking advantage of the stranger's momentary stunned condition, Seto landed five powerful punches to the man's face. Blood spurted from where Seto had broken the man's nose, and slight crunching and scraping noises alerted that Seto had broken a bone somewhere.

The stranger's expression hardened, and he worked one leg between his and Seto's body, shoving the young earl off and away from him before he flipped himself onto his feet and charging toward Seto to retaliate.

The two men clashed in the middle of their charge, fists and feet flashed in quick succession as they traded blow after blow, equal in strength and speed. Seto planted his knee in the stranger's groin, and the stranger doubled over with a gargled cry. He wrapped his arms around the stranger's waist and he threw the man forcibly into the wall beside them. Portraits rattled threateningly on the wall, but they all stayed put. However, the racket had awakened the teenagers inside the suite, both were in a panic as they listened to the fierce battle happening outside their door.

* * *

"Seto!" Yugi cried out, hoping that it had not been their guardian who had been on the receiving end of that last blow.

"Yugi, stay inside and hide yourselves quickly." Seto's voice filtered in through the closed door, and the two teenagers scrambled out of bed, frantically looking for a way to hide.

Rebecca opened the wardrobe against the wall, hoping that it would be suitable for their needs, only to be stricken in shock at the amount of weapons that were hidden inside. Swords, knives, daggers, axes, maces, quivers of arrows and a maple recurve bow, a long chain with a dagger attached to one end.

"These must be Athena's weapons." Rebecca gasped in awe, "Yugi." She called out.

The boy whirled toward Rebecca's voice and was quick to catch the recurve bow and quiver as Rebecca tossed them toward him, "Remember what Athena told us to do if there was trouble?"

"Yes." Yugi breathed as the memory came to him as well. Yugi yanked the window open, nocked an arrow, and aimed toward the tall Cyprus tree closest to the backyard. He loosed the arrow and it buried deep in the wood. "I hope she is near enough to see it." Yugi prayed.

* * *

Outside the suite, Seto was having difficulty handling the stranger he realized must be Kalim, Athena's half-brother. His leg was paining him, and it was causing him to slow up. Yet still, Seto pressed forward as he continued his defense, pushing Kalim back and away from Yugi's bedchamber, heading toward the stairwell toward the entrance hall.

Kalim dropped to the floor and kicked out, sweeping Seto's legs out from under him. Seto fell to the floor in a heap, hissing as his tailbone took the brunt of the impact. Kalim was suddenly on him, his hands encircling Seto's throat as he began to choke the life out of him.

Seto's hands curled around Kalim's wrists, trying to pull the man's hands off of his neck. His vision was beginning to acquire black spots and blurred. Gritting his teeth, he remembered Athena's message. He would not fail her. He would protect Yugi, no matter the stakes.

His resolve hardening, Seto curled his thumbs and dug his thumbnails deep into Kalim's wrists. He kept digging deeper until Kalim's grip loosened. Seto yanked the man's hands off of his neck and brought his head up, smashing his forehead into Kalim's jaw. The Egyptian reared back and Seto got himself into a crouched position before he launched himself. He twisted himself, and his shoulder slammed into Kalim's midsection. He did not go down this time, and it felt like Seto had just run into a brick wall. The man did stumble back, though, giving Seto enough time to scan his surroundings for any means he could use as a weapon.

His gaze fell onto a silver glint on the floor just outside Yugi's bedchamber door. On closer inspection, Seto saw that it was a small, three-inch knife. A palm knife to be specific, and it looked strangely familiar.

The answer came to him, and Seto dove for the palm knife. He gripped the knife in one hand, using his momentum to propel him backward and he landed on his feet, gripping the knife a little awkwardly, but still confident that at least with this, he could make up for his handicap against Kalim.

Kalim sneered venomously at Seto, "My business here is not with you, boy. Stand down and I might let you live." Kalim warned.

"No, your business is a fifteen-year-old boy which you believe you can use to bait Athena out in the open. I am sorry, but I cannot allow you to do such a thing."

"You defend such a filthy animal as that woman?"

Seto's expression darkened, his eyes narrowing dangerously as he nodded, "Yes."

Kalim bellowed and charged Seto. Seto stayed where he was, and when the men collided, Seto stumbled back a little. He felt the knife in his hand slide into Kalim's flesh. The force of the collision caused the two men to fall backwards, their combined weight crashing through the handrail of the staircase as the two men plummeted toward the tiled floor several feet below.


	19. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters from the anime. I own everything else, though. **

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen**

Seto and Kalim struggled as they fell to gain the higher position so that the other would take the brunt of the impact. With the palm knife embedded in his hip, Kalim's strength was lacking and Seto maneuvered them until he was above Kalim. He untangled himself out of Kalim's grip and used Kalim as leverage as he leapt away from the mercenary and landed in a crouch on the floor. His wounded leg began to spasm and he pitched forward onto his hands and knees.

Kalim slammed full force to the ground, the added propulsion from Seto's escape promptly inciting the oxygen in his lungs to flee his body and he lay sprawled out on his back, stunned by the impact, as he attempted to recollect himself. One hand gripped his wounded hip, and his rage from the memory of the humiliation he had befallen at Athena's hands was enough to force Kalim to slowly gain his feet. He was halfway standing when Seto delivered a rapid roundhouse to the side of Kalim's head, causing Kalim to stumble to the side.

* * *

Yugi gripped a small dagger in his hand as he had Rebecca backed into a corner behind him, his senses on high alert as he flinched at every little noise he heard. He prayed that Athena would get there soon. As much as he trusted Seto with their lives, he was not sure of Seto's endurance. He hoped that Seto could hold Kalim off until she got here. Or maybe he could defeat him on his own, Yugi could not be sure. All he knew was that he had a duty to protect his friend.

His ears twitched ever so slightly at the subtle scrape of something outside his bedchamber window. He pivoted to the side to face the window and lifted the dagger a little higher, preparing to fight.

Three large, foreign men came through the window, and Yugi's eyes widened in fear, but he steeled himself and borrowed a little of Athena's courage. He pressed Rebecca further into the corner before he stood and waited for the three strangers to make the first move.

They laughed at Yugi's bravado, and when one of them approached the two teenagers, Yugi brought the blade of his dagger down to impale the blade through the man's wrist when he went to make a grab for the boy. Shouting and cursing with the pain, Yugi slams his shoulder into the man's torso, sending him careening to the ground in a heap. Yugi pulled his dagger out of the man's arm and then turned his attention to the remaining two.

"Arrogant brat." One muttered before they both started for him. Yugi sidestepped their first attempts to take him, dragging Rebecca with him as he slowly moved toward the bedchamber door.

Rebecca tried to unlock it, but without the key, the two teenagers were stuck inside this room with their potential abductors.

Yugi barred his teeth as he growled in frustration, "What do you want with me?" He demanded.

"We do not want you, little twit. We want the woman."

"Athena." Yugi breathed.

"The child is smarter than he appears." One man mocked before they lunged toward him at once. One grabbed Yugi's wrist when he slashed the dagger out at the closest man, and he twisted Yugi's arm behind his back, preventing him from escaping without injuring himself. "Now, be a good boy and come quietly. We do not like to harm children."

Suddenly, the man holding Yugi hostage was wrenched away from the boy. A foot lashed out and slammed into the man's clavicle, sending the man crashing into the small table in front of the armchair.

Athena stood directly between Yugi and the other assailants, her expression promising hell for daring to touch her charge. She had her crimson cloak on around her shoulders, and swathed in black.

She gestured for Yugi to hand over the dagger before she motioned for the children to move away from the door. Once they obeyed, Athena spun and she kicked the door near the knob. There was an audible snap, and the door slowly opened a crack.

"Run. Make your way toward Seto's bedchamber." She ordered, leaving no room for objection.

"Oh no you don't." The last stranger barked as the teenagers fled the room. When the man tried to follow, Athena's arm lashed out, and the blade of her dagger sang through the air as she embedded the blade clear through the side of the man's neck. He crumbled to the ground, gargling as he choked on his own blood.

The other strangers gained their feet, their faces showing the uncertainty but also their resolve to either succeed in their mission or die trying.

Athena could almost admire their determination. Almost…

As the two men charged for her, Athena's silver claws buried deep into one man's abdomen. As he doubled over, Athena's knee reared upward and slammed into his face. While the man still stood, Athena rolled across his back and landed on the other side of the first stranger.

She spun, aiming a roundhouse at the second man's head. She kept spinning as she delivered one more spin kick to the man's ribs, and once more she spun as she dropped to the floor, knocking the man's feet out from under him. Lying sprawled out on his back, Athena crouched beside him and with one swift jerk of her hands she snapped the man's spinal cord.

Athena stood to her feet and surveyed the carnage. One man had a dagger in his neck, the other had a broken neck, and the third man had died after a shard of his shattered nose became embedded in his brain.

"Too merciful." Athena sneered as she left Yugi's bedchamber, leaving the corpses of foolish kidnappers in her wake.

Immediately after she walked out into the corridor, she could hear the sounds of a fierce struggle happening near the front of the house. Athena quickly went to check on Yugi and Rebecca. The children were shaken but safe and unharmed. As Athena turned to leave Yugi's arms wrapped around Athena's waist.

"You cannot leave us." He murmured into her back.

Athena turned herself until she was face to face with Yugi and crouched in front of the boy so that they were eye to eye, "Yugi, I have to go help Seto now. You will be safe here. Keep your heads down, stay alert, and I promise I will return as soon as I am able."

Yugi looked a little calmer, and Athena pressed a maternal kiss to Yugi's forehead. She undid her cloak and wrapped it around Yugi's shoulders.

"This will all be over soon. I promise."

Yugi nodded in understanding, and she gave Rebecca and platonic kiss on the top of her head to help calm her down before she turned and closed the door behind her. She ran full speed toward the front of the house, praying that Seto was not hurt overly badly.

A stitch in her abdomen caused Athena to slow down and press her hand to the ache. When she pulled her hand away, it came away bloody. Athena hissed air out through her teeth in frustration before she shoved her pain away and continued on toward the entrance hall as fast as she was able.

* * *

Kalim slammed Seto back against the marble column in the entrance hall. He bit his lip to stop himself from voicing his pain as he felt the surface beneath him give a little, and sharp edges of rock dug into his back. Seto grabbed Kalim's wrist as the mercenary aimed the palm knife toward his head. Their conjoined arms trembled with the force they were using.

"Just give up already. You are fading and all you are doing now is delaying the inevitable." Kalim demanded.

"You have no idea who you are talking to if you think for a moment that I would ever surrender to the likes of you." Seto growled.

Seto brought his knee up into Kalim's groin, wrenching Kalim's forearm to the right and listening as the bone disconnected to Kalim's elbow. Seto kicked Kalim back but Kalim still had the knife, and he sliced the blade across Seto's thigh. Seto cried out at the pain and he collapsed to the ground lying on his side as he clutched the wound. Kalim had a twisted ugly smirk on his face as he twirled the palm knife between his fingers before he prepared to throw it.

Something big, black, and solid slammed into Kalim and threw the mercenary to the ground. They rolled several times before Kalim was shoved several feet backwards while the other used both of her legs to throw the man off of her. Still in mid-roll, Athena maneuvered herself until she had her hands under her, and she flipped herself up onto her feet, her breathing harsh and uneven.

Seto had never been more uncertain about how to feel about Athena's sudden appearance. He felt relief, gratitude, and something foreign swell inside him, but he also felt embarrassed and angry that he had to admit that a woman saved his life.

But something was not right about her. The night before, Seto had noticed the woman looked a little sick, but in the light of day, he could tell the dramatic differences between the woman he had known before all of the Marrison and mercenaries business happened. Her skin had acquired a sickly yellow tinge pallor to it, her scarlet eyes were glassy, and if he had to venture a guess, Athena's ragged breathing had nothing to do from a good sprint down the corridor.

Kalim got back on his feet, after recovering from the momentary shock of Athena's ambush, but Athena was faster. Her fist slammed down onto Kalim's temple before Athena spun and executed a fast roundhouse to Kalim's chest. There was a snap of a broken sternum and a couple of cracked ribs.

"How does that feel, you bastard." Athena snarled, animalistic.

Athena ruthlessly attacked Kalim, her silver claws slashing and sawing away at Kalim in small chunks of flesh at a time, drawing out his inevitable death.

Seto was dumbfounded and frozen in shock at the animosity that he was seeing from the woman. He could clearly see why she was a Spartan descendent. He was feeling a morbid fascination at Athena's lethal dance.

Athena had Kalim on the ground, pinned with her legs on either side of Kalim's abdomen, his arms underneath his back as she leaned her left arm across Kalim's shoulders, her elbow grinding into Kalim's shattered sternum.

"You think that mother would want you to kill your own sisters? Do you think she would approve of your actions? You are such a hypocrite, brother. Mother was gentle, kind, and loving. She loved me just as much as you, or else she would not have given birth to me."

"That was her worst mistake." Kalim spat, "Such a putrid, filthy barbarian like you soiling my family's good name. How many lived have you taken in your needless thirst for survival? Do you even have any idea what the death rate at your hands is now?"

"It does not matter how I survived, Kalim. You seem to have the problem with me. I have done nothing except for live my life to my best ability. I gave you ample opportunities to back off and return to your life, to where you belong. And yet your fruitless vendetta against my Spartan blood has cost you your own sister's life, and now it will cost you your own." Athena's voice was deathly serious, her gaze uncompromising.

"As long as I take you with me, I do not care that I die now." Kalim bucked against Athena's hold just enough to release one arm, the one still clenching Athena's knife in his grip. He thrust the knife upwards, aiming for Athena's abdomen in the hope that he could strike some vital organs, however, his bucking had allowed Athena the leverage to move just enough so that the knife still slid into her abdomen, but closer toward her side. Athena hissed before she slammed the silver claws into Kalim's heart. She gripped the organ in her palm and yanked it out of his chest, just as she had done with his employer a few hours prior.

Athena let the heart fall onto Kalim's body as she rolled off of him and tried to distance herself from her now dead brother. Seto was suddenly there, grabbing Athena in his arms and rested her upper body against his legs and stomach. He ripped his tunic off of his back and folded the cloth, he pulled the knife out of Athena's side and pressed the bundled tunic against the wound tightly.

"You are a fool, Athena. A damned, stupid fool." Seto breathed, his breathing hitched suspiciously.

Athena tried to look into Seto's face to see what was wrong with him, but her vision turned hazy and soon she was thrown into a world of darkness.


	20. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters from the anime, but I do own everything else. **

**A/N: I am nearly finished with this story. I've only two more chapters after this one and an epilogue, so I'd like to take a moment to give my gratitude to my faithful reviewers for sticking with me on this nail-biting adventure. S2Teennovelist, Ilovemanicures, YoungBountyGirl, Geneva Dim, Kearitona Sjachraelgil, AyaSeth, Chibitomodachi, Queen Hathor, BakuraLOLZ99, and Yaminisu, you're all amazing. It's thanks to you that I make such fast updates. I would like to know from anyone else what they think about my stories, so drop me a review once in a while. They always brighten up my day. ^_^  
**

**Once I'm finished with Crimson Guardian, I will get back to writing Shattered Memories. I think my pirate boys have been put off long enough.  
**

**On with the story!  
**

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen**

Arthur Hopkins was roused from sleep by an insistent knocking at his front door. He supposed that he should have been awake already, and he got out of bed to answer the door. He was shocked and anxious to find Mahado on his doorstep, breathing heavily and doubled over as if he had just finished a long, hard running stint.

"Are you all right? What is it?" Arthur questioned, fearing that something might have happened to his granddaughter.

"Yes sir...but you must...come quickly. There has been...an emergency...please hurry." The man panted, slowly recollecting his composure.

"Yes, of course." Arthur replied and he quickly dressed and grabbed his medical bag before moving back to the door where he saw Mahado had flagged down a cabbie. The men climbed into the buggy and Mahado barked out directions to the Henderson Manor before they started quickly back to Seto's family home.

"Tell me what has happened. Is Rebecca all right?" Arthur demanded.

"Yes, Rebecca is quite all right. This morning there has been an incident. My nephew's caretaker and Lord Henderson were both wounded. I fear the young woman may be dying. She has a vicious injury in her abdomen that, as far as I am aware, has yet to stem or stop bleeding. The young master is very distraught over Athena's condition." Mahado briefly explained.

"Athena? Is she not the woman my granddaughter speaks so highly of? I heard she was dead."

"Nay. She survived; for how much longer still remains to be seen." Mahado said ruefully, and hung his head in despair.

"I shall do the best I can do to help this young lady."

Oddly enough, Mahado smiled a little at Arthur's comment, but it was not due to relief. How odd…

Seto ignored Mokuba's fussing over his leg as he continued to apply pressure to Athena's injury. The blood flow seemed to have slowed a little, but something did not seem right. Athena's pulse was slowing, her breathing shallow, and her skin was growing cool every passing moment. An unfamiliar emotion caused him to feel as though his heart was in his throat. He felt something inside that he had not experienced in over twenty years. He felt debilitating dread, crippling grief, utter hopelessness…all the things he did not think he would ever experience again after his mother's death.

His uncle, Mokuba, and their small entourage arrived at the manor a few moments after Athena killed Kalim. They had felt predictably shocked, horrified, and relieved all at the sight that greeted them upon crossing over the threshold into the foyer. Their horror was understandable at seeing the carnage that had ensued during their absence, their shock over finding Seto holding an unconscious, heavily wounded, unconscious Athena, trying desperately to stop her bleeding gave way to relief at finding that Athena had survived the Wellingshire fire. That relief was a hollow one, because none of them were certain if Athena would recover from her wounds.

Mahado had immediately gone to get help from Doctor Hopkins. Isis had gone upstairs to check on the children. As Seto had ordered, she was keeping the young ones in their room until Athena's condition was finalized. It would devastate them to give them false hope if Athena did succumb to her wounds.

Mokuba and Raphael had assisted Seto in carrying Athena upstairs to the nearest vacant bedchamber where Seto had waited impatiently for Mahado to return.

_Where are they? _Seto demanded as Athena's expression became pinched and her breathing hitched slightly from pain. _So much blood…why is she still bleeding so much?_

Seto was startled out of his thoughts as Arthur came striding quickly into the bedchamber.

"Let me have a look." He instructed, and Seto lifted his soiled tunic away from Athena's abdomen to let the physician see her wound. "My, this is serious." He murmured unnecessarily before he set his medical bag down on the bed. He rifled through the contents before pulling out a small jar of some pale green ointment.

He opened the jar and scooped up a little of the ointment onto his first two forefingers. He set the jar down and lifted the hem of Athena's tunic, "Luckily none of her vital organs have been struck. Hold her still." Arthur instructed.

Seto held Athena's right wrist down on the bed, hiding her silver claws behind his leg while his other arm came around her shoulders and pressed her against his thighs.

Immediately after Arthur began smoothing the paste over Athena's wound, the unconscious woman came awake in a violent blur. He nearly lost his grip on Athena's wrist, but somehow he held on. She barred her teeth in an animalistic snarl. The tendons in her neck were clearly visible.

"What the bloody hell is that?" Seto demanded.

"It is a mixture of medicinal herbs to stem the bleeding and combat infection. It is the ginger root that makes it burn so fiercely."

_You have no idea how close you had just come to death. _

After Arthur was finished smearing that godawful ointment over Athena's wound, the bleeding slowed to a trickle, and Athena collapsed against Seto in exhaustion, panting from the pain. All of her thrashing had made her tunic to climb higher, revealing a wealth of brutal-looking scars and…

Seto's eyes widened at the long, deep gash in Athena's left side. It bled freely and looked to have been dealt by a saber. Athena had most likely prevented any extreme damage, but someone had tried to cut Athena in two. And it was not a recent wound either.

_How long had she had that? Was she wounded when she met with me at the Crawford's gala? Why did I not see it before? _

Arthur did not bat an eye at the wound, and he began to spread that paste over and even inside the ragged edges of the injury. Athena pressed her face into Seto's stomach, and he felt a trickle of moisture slide down his abdomen. He slid his fingers through Athena's hair to offer silent comfort.

"I will have to sew the wound shut." Arthur muttered as he returned to look through his medical supplies and pulled out a needle and several strands of sterilized horsehair.

Arthur threaded one of the strands through the needle's eye and pushed the needle through Athena's skin, starting at one end of the wound and working his way across.

Athena ground her teeth and clenched her eyes closed tightly. The pain was not nearly as horrible as the ointment had been, but her nerves were hypersensitive and she could feel every poke, prod, and drag sensation was agitating. After several minutes and one hundred and four sutures, Arthur motioned for Seto to hold Athena upright so that he could wrap the bandages around her abdomen. Once he was certain that the bandages were tight enough, he began the process of a blood transfusion. He pushed a needle into a prominent vein in Athena's forearm that was connected to a long tube and a funnel-like, wooden bowl. He pulled two large jars of blood out and began to pour the contents into the bowl and fed the blood through the tube and into Athena's body.

It was not long before Athena's skin began to warm and her tone lost the sickly yellow pallor that it had recently acquired.

"There now, that should do the trick. Now, where were you injured?" He asked Seto.

"On my thigh, but it is not nearly as severe as it could have been." Seto replied.

"Yes, well, since I am here, let me have a look." It was not a suggestion.

Seto learned first hand how horrid that ointment was, but the wound did not require stitches. After Arthur finished mending the two young adults, he collected his supplied and went in search of his granddaughter. It would not hurt to check in on her just to be certain she was safe. After all, it was a grandfather's duty to worry for his grandchild.

Mokuba stood with his back against the doorframe, watching Seto as re recollected himself after his treatment, and then glanced down at the now unconscious Athena. He let out a long drawn-out sigh at the sight.

"What happened this morning, Seto? You never did say." He asked.

"Just as it appears. There was an intruder that trespassed and threatened us all, and so we dealt with him accordingly." Seto replied, sounding impartial to the event. The myriad of emotions he had felt while watching Athena fight to the death with Kalim was still raw in his mind.

"That is not what I saw; I saw a massacre in the aftermath. Putting down a hostile trespasser does not require mutilating the man beyond recognition before the killing blow is dealt. If word gets out about this, and you know that it will, you will have to go in front of the magistrate, and you may be judged as a murderer and executed. I _need_ to know the truth. What happened downstairs?" Mokuba argued.

Seto turned to glare venomously at his older cousin, "If it is a crime to protect one's household and their precious ones, than I deserve to die!"

Mokuba was taken aback by the vehemence in Seto's voice. He realized with mortifying clarity that he did not know the man before him at all. In the last six years, Seto and Mokuba had become two very different people. The woman in Seto's arms…the Danish orphan boy…even Mokuba's young fiancée have achieved in dragging Seto back to some semblance of normalcy in the last six months than Mokuba had in his entire life.

"Seto, please…I do not want to lose you again before I have a chance to learn about the man you have become. I have been a fool for too long, and I want to help. Please tell me?" Mokuba pleaded.

Seto continued to glare at Mokuba before he shook his head, "It is done." And he looked down at Athena's slumbering face. "There is nothing to tell that has already been said. Should the magistrate find me guilty for defending my home, then so be it. However, I was already declared a murderer when I tortured and killed Vivian."

Mokuba stared at Seto and then down at Athena. Something was missing from this equation, and that something was the woman lying silently against his cousin. Why was she the one more wounded of the two? Where did she come from? Why did she show herself now of all times? Why was she not with the children while Seto was killing the stranger?

Mokuba had a distinct impression that Athena had played some role in this morning's slaughter, and until he found out exactly what it had been, Mokuba could not trust her.

"Very well, Seto. If you do not want to confide in me, I will respect your wishes." Mokuba said, sounding defeated, "I am glad that you are all right." With those words spoken, Mokuba turned his back on the pair and left the room. Neither of them was aware of the enraged expression on Mokuba's face.

The remainder of the morning and afternoon, Mokuba, Mahado, Raphael, Valon, Alastair, and several other male solders and servants helped remove the strange man's body and to clean up the blood in the entrance hall. Arthur informed them of three more male corpses on the floor of Yugi's bedchamber.

"What? In Yugi's suite?" Mokuba questioned before he rushed upstairs to see for himself.

Mokuba felt sickened as he saw the corpses, their blood was splattered all across the room. One had a knife through his neck, another had his head turned completely around, and the third man had trails of dried blood running from his eyes, nose, and mouth.

This seemed too closely related to the other man's murder…something about the situation…that these bodies had been inside Yugi's bedchamber when they were killed…

Something in his mind clicked, and he immediately fled the room and started back toward the suite where he had left Seto with Athena. That woman was not what she appeared to be, and if his suspicions were correct, Seto was in danger.

When Mokuba threw the door open, Seto was gone, and Athena lay still on the bed. Mokuba's eyes searched the room, and a shimmering of silver caught his eye. He picked up the dagger and came toward the bed, glaring furiously down at Athena's slumbering form.

"I will not allow you to harm my cousin." He whispered maliciously, and lifted the knife in the air.

Before he could bring it down upon Athena's chest, a pair of piercing scarlet eyes shot open and froze Mokuba in place. It was then that Mokuba saw some sort of distorted gauntlet on Athena's hand, with razor-tipped finger blades attached to each of Athena's fingers.

He noted in horror that it was completely stained in blood…


	21. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters. I own everything else in this story, though. **

* * *

**Chapter Twenty**

In spite of Seto's wish to not allow the children to see Athena's in her current condition, as the day wore on, the two teenagers grew more and more insistent about needing to be with their protector. He figured since Athena was out of danger after Arthur declared he expected Athena to make a full recovery, he gave in and brought the young ones to the bedchamber he had left Athena a few moments earlier. As they came forward, Seto heard voices coming from the bedchamber, and when they got to the door of the suite, Seto grabbed Yugi and Rebecca to keep them hidden.

Athena was awake, and she was not alone. Seto's fury grew as he listened to Mokuba's accusations against Athena's character.

"If you care for Seto and the children at all, you will live here now and never return. Your presence here has been like a terrible curse, all you bring is death and destruction."

Mokuba had Athena backed up against a wall near the wardrobe. She was wearing a black breast band, her bandages, and her black trousers. One arm, the left one, was wrapped around her stomach where Seto could see blooming crimson spots of blood begin to spot them. She looked pale, she was sweating, and she was panting lightly from pain. Her right hand was pinned behind her back, concealing the silver claws still adorning her hand.

Mokuba had a dagger in his hand and it was poised at Athena's throat.

Seto could feel Yugi trembling as the boy's own anger grew within him at Mokuba's words, but before either of them could do anything, Athena spoke, "It is a little difficult for me to leave now, I would not last through the night in this condition. However, I will consider your proposition at a later time, when I have a chance to recover."

* * *

"I do not care if you die and rot. You have endangered Seto, and the children, by staying here for as long as you have. We were just fine with you dead, and we will be better off without you again. I am not giving you a choice. You will leave here one way or another." Mokuba hissed, pressing the blade against Athena's throat, but the action did not elicit the desired reaction from her.

Athena stared into Mokuba's gunmetal gray eyes with a face of stern indifference.

"Are you actually planning on killing me, Mokuba? More and better people than you have tried and failed to kill me. What makes you think you can?" She goaded.

"I will protect my family from you and your devices. I do not care if I sully my hands in your blood to do it, I will not allow you to bring harm to Seto, Rebecca, or Yugi."

"Bring them harm? I have done nothing but protect them since the moment I arrived here. And in case you have not noticed, it is not for you to decide whether I stay or leave. You do not hold supremacy over Seto in this house. If Seto tells me I have to leave, then I suppose I will have to, but I do not take orders from any limp-wristed Englishman who cannot even grasp a dagger properly, let alone probably even knows how to use it. Your eyes betray your arrogant words. You will not kill me. You are not man enough to do so." Athena shot back.

Before Mokuba could confirm or deny Athena's comment, Yugi broke away from Seto's grip and slammed into Mokuba's side.

"You leave Athena alone." Yugi cried as she stood between the downed man and his precious guardian. "She speaks the truth. She has done nothing but defend and protect us. Is this truly the gratitude you give to her for rescuing you out of the Wellingshire Manor before it burned to the ground? I thought you were a decent man, Mokuba, but I suppose I misjudged you. If you even think for a moment that Athena could bring harm to _me _you do not know anything at all!" Yugi shouted.

"Yugi…"

"I am ashamed of you, Mokuba." Yugi murmured, his small frame trembling with the ferocity of his emotions. "I cannot believe that after all she has done for all of you people, you think you can just throw her away like she means nothing to any of us. Well I love Athena! She is the closest I have had to a mother since my parents died, and I will not stand idly by as you try to force her to leave me here alone with you people! She risked EVERYTHING for us today, and you have the nerve to accuse her of being a curse? Your family would not even be here if those men who came here today had been left to their own devices. I would not be here right now, and your cousin you believe you are acting in the best intentions for would be dead because before Athena arrived, he was fighting that man alone! You owe her your family, Mokuba, not your enmity!" The boy screamed as his large amethyst eyes began to moisten with tears and he turned and pressed his face into Athena's stomach, "She will not ever leave me…"

"Are you satisfied, Mokuba?" Athena spat, her eyes narrowed in rage, "You act selfishly in an act that should have been selfless. All you care about is your family's status and their image. It is why you have distanced yourself from your younger cousin, after you discovered that he was capable of torturing a woman until he finally finished her off a week later. You want me to leave and bury the evidence of any heinous crimes that have occurred here because you do not want a woman like me to sully your family's good name. You are just like all of those other nobles out there, thinking off no one else except for yourselves. If you could have given me a better reason for leaving my precious ones behind, I may have listened to you. However, I do not take death threats lightly, and I especially do not take half-hearted murder attempts."

Mokuba looked hatefully up at Athena, "You have warped their minds."

"No, she has merely opened our eyes."

Mokuba swung his head around to find Seto in the doorway, looking especially livid at the situation, "Seto, I-"

"I do not want to hear your excuses. I have heard plenty just now." He strode into the bedchamber and walked toward Athena and Yugi's side, "You have done enough damage for one day. If you were not family, I would send _you_ away for this." Seto watched as Athena moved back to the bed and sat down, he kept a wary eye on Mokuba. "I know that somewhere inside of you, you do still love me as a brother, but you have too much of Vivian's blood in you to not be so avaricious, if not in fortune, then in reputation." Seto said as he leveled his glare at his older cousin. "If you think that you or this family will benefit from sending Athena away, you are sadly mistaken. I believe when she arrived at Wellingshire, she had every intention of leaving once she was certain Yugi would be safe and cherished, but she found something that she never expected. Did you not notice that before Athena arrived, Rebecca was miserable and lonely? That I was little more than a walking, talking dead man? Did you not stop to think that if Athena had not been here that everything would not have turned out the way that it did? Time does not bend, and it does not flow in one direction. If Athena was not here, we would be dead two times over. And aside from that, who do you think you are ordering people around in _my _home?"

"I was only trying to help."

"Yes, help yourself." Seto remarked. "Athena was never a danger to us. It was merely your overactive imagination and paranoia that made you think you could send Athena away and everything would be fine."

Mokuba remained silent for quite some time before he left the suite without saying another word. As he entered the hallway, he passed Rebecca, and he saw the rejection and disappointment in her eyes.

_What have I done?_

* * *

Yugi was still furious over the things Mokuba had said to Athena, and still astounded and awed by Seto's defense. Rebecca had come into the room and she cried herself to sleep against Athena's shoulder, the events of the day and the thought of never seeing Athena again became too much for the girl to handle. Yugi was faring not much better as he leaned against Athena's shoulder and cried out his frustration. They did not know how long the stayed clustered together this way, but after a while, Seto came and sat beside them.

"I am sorry you had to go through that. All of you." He said in a quiet tone of voice.

"Seto, do you believe that all Mokuba had said was a lie? I feel like a curse sometimes…" Athena wondered.

"No, I do not believe in curses." Seto replied, before he sighed and continued, "You just have rotten timing sometimes. However, that does not mean that you have to isolate yourself from the ones who love you." His eyes shifted to the children laying against her, "The young ones would be lost if it was not for you." _And so would I._

Athena smiled gently at his answer. As blunt as it had begun, Seto was refreshingly comforting, "Thank you, Seto."

"You are welcome." He muttered, looking away for a moment, "It is getting late. The moon has risen a few hours ago, and it has been a long day."

"I want to stay with Athena tonight." Yugi commented, and Rebecca nodded in agreement, "Me too."

"Well…their room is a bit unsuitable at the moment." Athena replied, by way of accepting.

"Come on then, I will put you in a more comfortable room. This bed does not seem large enough for the three of you. And I want to check your wounds." Seto offered.

Athena glanced down at the bandages. The crimson stain has not grown larger, but it would not hurt to have Seto take a look. Well, it would hurt if he had to use that godawful ointment again…

The children scrambled off of the bed and they followed Seto and Athena out of the room and down the corridor in the direction of the children's old room. They stopped at a door that was right across from Seto's bedchamber and he opened the door and lit a lantern to spread some light in the room.

The room was a little chilly, the window had been left open to air the stuffiness out, but that was easily remedied as Seto closed the window and began to start a fire in the hearth. The children burrowed under the blankets and it did not take them long to fall asleep.

* * *

"Lay down on the bed." Seto instructed as he used the billow to coax the fire to burn brighter and warmer. He set the billow and the iron prod that he used to arrange the logs so that the fire would burn longer, and then once he was finished, Seto turned to find that Athena had only partially obeyed his order. She was sitting on the edge of the bed and grinned lightly at him, "It would be difficult to unravel the bandages if I were lying on my back while you make the attempt."

Seto blew out a breath in irritation before he approached Athena and pulled out one end of the bandages and began to unravel them. The sutures were in excellent condition, and there was no reddening or swelling to signal infection to his relief. The stab wound Kalim had dealt to her had stopped bleeding again. He wondered if it had been just residual blood after the ointment was spread over it. She still had a few tendrils of blood flowing when Arthur had wrapped her.

Seto found the fresh roll bandages Arthur had left and he wrapped them around her stomach.

"You know that it was foolish of you to let down your guard like that in the end?" Seto asked as he wrapped the bandages around her.

"I know…I suppose I was not thinking quite right. I thought I had him pinned well enough, but I had forgotten about how strong he had been during our first encounter." Athena replied sounding a little embarrassed.

"You are fortunate that he did not strike you any further to the right or else you would not be here now." Seto said.

"Would that be such a terrible thing?" Athena wondered.

Finished wrapping her bandages and satisfied that they were just tight enough, he took his hand and cupped Athena's chin, tilting her head up a little so that they were eye to eye, "Yes, it would have been a tragic thing. I do not care what Mokuba believes, Athena. I believe that you are a warrior who simply brings the battlefield along with her. You have done your best to protect us, and aside from a few people who died in the Wellingshire fire, you have succeeded in making sure that we all are more or less harmed. You took the brunt of the damage, and you fight your own battles without dragging anyone else down with you. I saw what happened today; Mokuba can only assume." Seto replied.

"I could have sworn you had gotten caught in the crossfire this morning as well." Athena murmured.

"Yes, but that did not count. I am stubborn and act on my own, and I did it to protect the children until you arrived, so that was all on me, and therefore it was my own fault that I had been injured. At least we survived."

Athena nodded in agreement, "You are right." She conceded.

"Of course I am." Seto remarked arrogantly.

They looked into each other's eyes for a few more minutes before Athena stood and hooked her hand around Seto's neck, pulling his head down until his lips met hers. It was a fast kiss before they separated. Seto looked bewildered and stunned, but a moment later, he leaned back in for a long, heated kiss.

They broke apart again for air and Athena pressed her forehead against Seto's chest to catch her breath. She felt Seto's arms around her waist and his chin on her head.

"Seto, I am sorry for worrying you today." She whispered.

Seto took a moment to reply, but then he said, "I never want to feel that ever again."

"I cannot promise, I am a warrior after all. But I can promise that I will try to be more cautious." Athena compromised.

Seto grunted, and then said, "I suppose that will have to do."

Athena raised her head once more, and the moment that she did, Seto was kissing her again. All of the strange emotions he had ever felt, the devastating fear that he might lose Athena came rushing back to him, and it influenced their kiss, making Seto's kiss almost punishing. Seto heard a soft sound come from the back of Athena's throat, and Seto pulled back once again.

Seto saw the flush in Athena's cheeks and the slight glaze in her scarlet eyes, and he pressed his forehead to hers, wanting to express how he felt in that moment, but hesitated when he remember her wounds. He sighed and pressed a kiss to Athena's forehead and let her go.

"Good night, Athena." He murmured huskily before heading out of the room. Athena followed him to shut the door behind him.

"Good night."

Seto gave a slight nod in acknowledgment, before he disappeared behind his bedchamber door.


	22. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters from the anime. But I do own everything else. **

**Warning: There is a sex scene at the end of this chapter, so be prepared. I don't think it'll prickle too many people's feathers, but just as a precaution so you all know that it's there. **

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-One**

"Where did you get this?"

Athena hissed at Seto as he gently prodded the stitches in her side to judge if there was any fever stirring from the wound. The skin was pulling together with every passing day, and so far, nothing serious had happened. It seemed that horrid green paste the doctor had used on them had done a fantastic job of killing any dangerous bacteria that might have given Athena an infection.

Doctor Hopkins had come calling that morning to check up on Athena's condition and to check her sutures. He had determined that if either wound has yet to become infected, then she had no need to worry about them becoming infected at all. He did leave a bottle of the ointment that Seto was just now preparing to apply to the open knife wound in Athena's abdomen.

"I was being careless. When I heard Yugi would be in the same vicinity as Marrison, I had reacted uncharacteristically rash. It had occurred to me to be prepared for anything, but my mind was focused on getting to Yugi that I had not quite grasped the concept that it would be Kalim's style to overwhelm and overtake his target. I had not seen them approach until I had already felt the blade strike me before I realized my mistake."

* * *

_The searing pain in her side was blinding and Athena's eyes flickered down to see the sword embedded in her body and burying even deeper. Athena's arm lashed out, her ambusher rearing backward as he screamed, five slender spikes that sank deep into the side of the man's face. The sword slid out of her body, and Athena arm arched upward, and her silver claws buried in through the man's under jaw. She yanked her hand away and let the man's body fall at her feet. _

_She heard the approaching footsteps on all sides, and she whirled, lifting her leg and her heel struck one of her ambushers in the ribs. She slapped her hand down, her claws tearing through the man's torso, slicing diagonally and laying open his flesh until bone and organ began spilling out. _

_Another man came up behind her and grabbed her around the neck, intending to snap her spine. One moment his grip was firm, the next he shoved Athena away as her claws dug deep into the man's thigh, severing several arteries. _

_Athena rushed forward, slicing another man's throat so savagely that his head toppled off from his shoulders. She sprung backwards and flipped, her knees coming to rest on each of the last man's shoulders. She tightened her grip and twisted herself, and the man's neck snapped in two. _

_Athena lost her balance and she slammed into the ground, gasping in pain and desperately scrambling to gather oxygen into her lungs. Her hands grasped her side, trying to keep more of her blood from spilling onto the ground. She rolled onto her stomach and pushed herself up onto her hands and knees. _

_She crawled to a nearby tree and she leaned back against the trunk. She used her claws to cut her tunic off of her and she slipped the fabric off of her shoulders and began to tear the fabric into strips. Athena leaned away from the trunk and began to wrap the strips around her abdomen tightly until she felt sure that the blood flow was stemmed well enough. _

_She used the tree trunk to push herself to her feet, taking a moment to get rid of the vertigo she felt from the blood loss. Once she felt more like herself, she started continued to run as she made her way to the Crawford's manor, the spires of the mansion just coming into view on the horizon. _

_Athena slunk around in the shadowed areas of the property, looking for the easiest means of infiltration. She spotted a cluster of black clad serving boys off to the side of the palace, coming in through the buttery doors. She crept closer, her eyes scanning each one of the serving boys until she saw one branch off away from the group. Like a lioness hunting her prey, Athena lunged at the best opportune moment, coming up behind the boy and backhanding the boy with the back of her claws, knocking the boy unconscious. She caught him before he hit the ground and dragged him out of sight before she stripped him and pulled on the boy's serving clothes. Once she was dressed, she left the boy where he was and went over to the door. She had gotten inside the mansion and she searched the living quarters, and she found a queue. She fashioned her hair until the dominate black of her hair was the only color showing. She looked into a looking glass and she straightened her clothes, nodded her approval, and quit the room. _

* * *

Seto was silent after Athena finished her explanation. He finished inspecting her stitches and the knife wound to her abdomen, before he wrapped her in bandages and leaned down to press a kiss to the top of Athena's head.

"You will never be so reckless again." Seto whispered.

Athena tilted her head back, giving a light chuckle as she smiled arrogantly at him, "Are you giving me an order, Seto?"

"Yes." He replied, "I do not want you to be so reckless in the future. You have too many people who need you here, not in the grave."

Athena's eyes softened and she smiled gently at him, "It was a one-time thing, and I did not expect you to be present with Yugi, or else I might not have felt so urgent in my need to get to the mansion."

Seto grunted in acknowledgment and tested the bandages' tautness with his finger and then he gripped the back of Athena's head and gave her a great, heated kiss. Athena's hands rested on Seto's waist as she kissed him back, and Seto deepened the kiss.

* * *

Athena could not remember a time in her life she had felt so conflicted by her emotions. Since the night she and Mokuba had their verbal fight, her emotions have been in turmoil. Some of the things Mokuba had accused her of had struck her on a soul-deep level…some things she had been questioning about herself on her own. She has been keeping her distance from Mokuba as much as possible. After Yugi and Seto had their say on that night, he had avoided her just as much as she has been avoiding him, but from the few moments where they were caught in the same room, there had been obvious friction between the two adults.

Seto has been staying as far away from the man as possible, but for an entirely different reason. He feared that he just might murder his cousin should he spend any amount of time with the man for the damage he had done to Athena. Yugi was uncharacteristically hostile toward Mokuba as well.

It hurt to feel such great turmoil happening within the house. Rebecca sat in her bed with her legs bent and her arms rested on her knees, her chin propped on her arms as her mind continued to dwell on the hurtful words Mokuba had shouted at Athena. How could anyone believe that Athena brought them danger when she has been bending over backwards to protect them? Rebecca knew that Athena had a bad temper at times, and she was capable of a lot of things that Rebecca had once believed no woman, and even some men, could not be capable of. Even so, Athena has been kinder to her than anyone in this entire house. She had close friendships now with Yugi and even Seto, who had frightened her to a fit of trembling before Athena came along, and to think that her own fiancée could be so cruel to Athena is just unacceptable in Rebecca's eyes.

But what hurt the most was that Rebecca really loved both Mokuba and Athena…how was she supposed to decide whom to support in this situation?

"Are you all right?"

Rebecca's eyes rose to see the object of her confusion standing in her doorway, "I did not hear you come in." She murmured.

"I knocked a few times, but when you did not answer I was not sure if you were in here." Mokuba replied, his gunmetal gray eyes staring fixatedly at the carpeted floor.

"What do you want, Mokuba?" She asked, surprising the man with her boldness.

"I…I wanted to apologize for the way I had acted the other night. I was out of line and I was unsettled when I discovered that she was capable of killing people…I was afraid she might be unstable…or something. I know it is no excuse, but I know I hurt you with the way I acted. So, I am sorry Rebecca."

"I am not the one you need to apologize to. You hurt Athena more than you could have ever hurt me. So before you ask my forgiveness, then go and settle things with her." Rebecca said, her baby blue eyes narrowing.

Mokuba sighed, "I know. I just…"

"You are being prideful and you do not want to admit to your own foolishness in front of the one at the receiving end of your inappropriate words." Rebecca rebuked, standing up off of her bed and approaching her fiancée with a gimlet glare on her face.

"When did you become so-?"

"Since Athena should me that women can possess a shred of dignity just as men do." She cut him off once more, standing toe-to-toe with the older man. "You could learn a thing or two from her once you are finished accusing her of such abominations as you have done just five nights ago. Instead of throwing judgment out at people, you should get to know them. You are so intent on yourself and your family that you cannot pay tribute to the non-nobles and the socially awkward figures as well. Have you even an inkling about who I was before Athena came to live with us? Did you give any thought to who you were marrying? Nay, because I was the daughter of a middle-class midwife and a father who was a soldier, so that made me beneath you, and so I was nothing but a grievance you were being forced to live the rest of your life with. It would be all right, you could find a suitable mistress to keep you company, since I am merely a lowborn child. Learn a lesson from Athena and start broadening your horizons. You might learn to appreciate your life a little more." Rebecca stated.

Mokuba stared at his riled-up fiancée with an odd mixture of awe, surprise, and anger in his expression. Before he could say anything in reply, Rebecca sighed.

"Go talk to Athena. It is her that you have wounded, so now you put your pride away for now and make things right." Rebecca ordered, but in a soft tone of voice so as to not rile Mokuba's volatile temper.

* * *

Athena was looking on as Yugi and Seto practiced fencing in the front courtyard when she heard the crunching of gravel beneath approaching footsteps. She turned her head and her eyes narrowed dangerously as she saw Mokuba approaching, albeit sheepishly.

"What do you want?" She demanded, her venom easily catching the attention of Seto and Yugi. They did not move as they could all but see Athena's hackles rising.

Mokuba froze in mid-step as Athena's voice slapped him hard. He visibly flinched before he bowed his head and stared at the ground near the toes of his shoes.

"I made a mistake. I panicked when I realized it had been you and not Seto who had killed those four men and I was acting out of place because I feared you might try to hurt Seto. I said some things that were horribly uncalled for. I needed to apologize for what I have done. I am sorry." Mokuba said, a little hurriedly.

Athena's scarlet eyes bored into Mokuba's forehead. "Look me in the eye, like the man you pretend to be." She commanded.

Mokuba raised his head, "What do you mean by "pretend"?"

Athena pivoted so that they were face-to-face and pushed her hands into her trouser pockets, "Pretend, as in "imagine" or "make-believe". You attempt to show outsiders how manly you are that you forget how to stop the act once you are away from the public eye. You target the "little ones", women and children, believing you are above them, and you flaunt your wealth and your title as though you are king. If you want to face _me _as a man wanting absolution, then at the very least have the dignity to look me in the eye. Now repeat what you said once more, and do so with more sincerity." Athena said, her tone sharp.

Mokuba frowned at the woman, but he complied, "I was being a fool and I said some things that I should not have. I am sorry."

"I do not accept your apology."

"And why not?" Mokuba demanded.

"Because it is my prerogative to accept or reject your half-hearted apology. You meant exactly what you said that night, and therefore you do not seek absolution, but you just want a reprieve from your guilt. Do not think for a moment that I am fooled but your act, Mokuba. I saw through you the moment I met you. You are just as transparent as water." Athena replied calmly. "You spoke with the same conviction in your voice as I say when I tell you that you are no man, but a boy who has lived the whole of his life with a silver spoon in your mouth."

Mokuba's face became mottled with red as his anger rose.

"Seto." Athena called out, ignoring Mokuba's anger.

Seto moved to Athena's side and she slid the rapier out of his hand, "I challenge you to a duel, Mokuba. If you win, I will accept your apology and you may feel your pathetic sense of relief that you have been absolved. However, if I should win, I will teach you a lesson of a different sort."

Mokuba had figurative smoke blowing out of his ears as he stalked over to Yugi's position and the boy put his rapier in his hand. As Yugi was walking off to Seto's location, he said, "Show him what you are made of, Athena."

"I intend to." She replied, setting a hand on Yugi's shoulder as she walked up to Mokuba's position.

They stood a yard away from each other, the tips of their swords barely touching as they took their places.

Mokuba tapped his sword against Athena's before he lunged at her, his rapier coming down in an arch. Athena smoothly dodged the strike. Mokuba growled in frustration as he continued his barrage of ungraceful parries and lunges as he tried his damnedest to get a hit on her, but as hard as he tried, he seemed to never be fast enough to take Athena by surprise.

"Your eyes give you away. Stop trying so hard to think about the battle and just fight." Athena instructed.

"Be silent." Mokuba hissed, and continued on as though she had never spoken.

Athena, growing tired of this tedious fight, sighed before she brought her blade down onto the hilt of Mokuba's sword, slapping the sword out of Mokuba's hand. She pressed the tip of the rapier to Mokuba's throat.

"You are all talk and no action. Your anger grips your heart tighter than you ever feel anything else, including love, and if you feel that much anger at all times, you have no room for any other emotion." Athena said before her eyes softened a little, "It must be difficult having to live with the strain of knowing that the woman who gave you life could have been capable of wounding another the way she had. Especially when the someone she wounded was the cousin that you had come to love as a brother."

Mokuba's eyebrows snapped together, "What would you know about it?"

"Trust me, Mokuba. You are so much more fortunate for not knowing what I have had to go through. So, like Seto, let go of the bitterness that your mother left you wallowing in and stop feeling like the pitiful child who could do nothing to help your cousin. You are a man who is about to marry Rebecca and start a life with her, but you cannot do that the way you are now."

Athena let the rapier fall blade-first into the wood-block that housed the rapiers and began walking toward Seto and Yugi.

"I forgive you." She said without turning around.

"What? How could you?" Mokuba asked.

"Because you are only human, and you are poisoned by hate. Let it go."

Mokuba was left staring in the direction Athena, Yugi, and Seto had been before they disappeared into the house.

* * *

Seto held Athena against his chest as he felt her shivering. She had put on a calm front, but still waters travel deep, and there is a lot of turmoil going on within her heart and in her mind. He felt pride in her for showing the same logic that had made Seto come out of his shell, but he ached for her because there were some deep mental wounds that had reopened.

"I am all right." She murmured into Seto's chest.

"Nay." Seto whispered into her hair pressing a kiss to her cheek, "However, I know that you will be." He replied.

"Was Mokuba right? I-I am capable of so much, and it does seem like death follows me wherever I go, whether death is delivered by my own hand or not." Athena wondered.

"Nay." Seto said vehemently, with great conviction, "You are not cursed, nor does death follow you. Death is just another stage of life that all people have to go through. Even as I say these words, five more people in this world have died, and you are not responsible for any of them. Mokuba was a fool."

Athena lifted her head to look at Seto, her eyes swimming with unshed tears, "On some level, I believe I know this…just that another part is not quite as convinced."

Seto nodded in understanding, "Yes, but the latter side of you is wrong."

Athena smiled lightly at Seto, "Thank you."

Seto grunted, before he leaned down and captured her lips. Athena moaned at the sensation of Seto's soft lips gliding gently over hers, and as she felt his body pressed against hers, a foreign part of herself began to stir…one that she never thought she would ever encounter.

"Seto." She murmured against Seto's lips, "Would you take me to bed?" She asked.

Seto lifted his head, his eyes wide in shock, "What did you say?"

Athena's tongue flitted across her suddenly dry bottom lip, "I want to show you how much I feel for you. I…I do not know what love is, but this feels like it may be what I am feeling." She replied.

Seto looked down at her in bewildered awe as his mouth fell open slightly, "Are you sure?"

"Yes." Athena said.

"What about your wounds?"

"They have healed enough for this." Athena replied.

"Well then…"

Seto leaned back in for another heated, passionate kiss as he began to back Athena up and he lowered her down onto the bed. Athena pulled herself higher up on the bed, and once she was situated, Seto crawled up onto the bed and kissed her once more.

Athena's arms came up and wrapped around Seto's neck as she spread her legs and bent her knees up to cradle Seto closer to her. Seto propped himself up on one forearm as his other hand cupped the back of Athena's head before he slid it around to caress Athena's face.

They broke apart for breath, and Seto began to kiss his way down Athena's neck. As soon as his breath flitted across the juncture off Athena's neck and shoulder, Athena's mouth fell open as she gasped out a surprised moan. She felt Seto's lips move into a smile before his tongue flicked across that sweet spot, relishing in Athena's breathy sighs. He nipped the flesh there, and Athena's back arched up against Seto, and the friction of their bodies began to have an affect on Seto.

He was overly aware of how pleasantly soft Athena felt. From the glimpses he had had of her had gave him the impression that Athena's body would feel hard and sculpted, but she felt surprisingly womanly. Seto's hand glided down a little further and hitched up the hem of Athena's tunic. His fingertips caressed the heated, smooth skin beneath her clothes, and he suddenly craved more. He sat up on his knees, pulling Athena up with him as his hands pulled her tunic up over her head. Seto had seen her without her tunic on many times in the past few days, but suddenly he felt like he was seeing her for the first time. He did not notice the vicious scars from her days as a slave, or the wounds from her warrior days. He saw a gloriously beautiful woman…and she was all his.

He lowered his head and kissed Athena desperately, his tongue seeking out the heated cavern of Athena's mouth, and once permission was granted, he felt like he had reached heaven as his tongue teased and played with Athena's. Seto's hand slipped Athena's breast band off, and his palm cupped one copper-gold breast. He was amazed at how soft and warm she felt. His thumb flickered across Athena's erect nipple, and he felt her breath hitch and her back arched, her body demanded more of his touch.

Seto laid Athena back down on the bed as he began to work his way down Athena's body, his mouth and hands memorizing every inch of Athena's body. His mouth covered one of her nipples into his mouth, his tongue circling the taut peek before he sucked and pulled his head back, and he felt the trembling reenter Athena's body, only this time it was due to pleasuring bliss instead of mental wounding.

He felt Athena's hand pulling at his tunic, and so he leaned up again, and his tunic joined hers on the floor. Seto had once felt hatred for his body because it was a perpetual reminder of what he had been through. Now, with the way Athena's hands all but worshipped his body was arousing in and of itself.

Seto's hands came to the waistband of Athena's trousers, and slowly he began to tug them and Athena's loincloth down the length of her long legs. He let them fall to the floor and stared in wonder at the full majesty of Athena. Scars and all, she was breathtaking. His heart pounded peculiarly as he looked into her eyes and saw such blissful abandon in those glorious jewel-like eyes.

"I love you." He found himself saying before he even knew what he was doing, but he felt the words resonate within him.

"And I you." Athena replied, her smile turning seductive. "Come here." She crooned, and Seto obeyed, kissing her with every ounce of his emotion as he felt her fingers glide over Seto's back before they came around to the front and he felt his trousers being tugged off of his hips, and she used her feet to push them down his legs.

Seto's hardness nestled intimately within the crook of Athena's thighs, and Athena shivered at the wantonness she felt take hold of her.

Seto suddenly found himself on his back with Athena on top of him. He would have believed that in this position he would feel revulsion, but Athena was not Vivian, and he loved Athena. This made all the difference at this moment.

He relished in that arousing expression flickering over her face. Athena's eyes shone with mischief. Her smile bordered on arrogance as she leaned over Seto and her tongue dragged over Seto's nipple. He let out a choked moan at the first lick, and then as Athena continued the action, he felt breathless and lightheaded.

Athena slid her body down Seto's own. She sucked and licked her way down his body, her tongue swirling around Seto's navel before dipping in for a second before she continued downward.

"Athena, what are you doing?" Seto asked.

"You will see." She replied before her hand slipped around Seto's length.

"Oh, God." He gasped as she began stroking him slowly but firmly. His head flew off the pillows as he felt Athena's hot, wet mouth engulf him, and she sucked him powerfully before she let him slide from her mouth with a lewd pop. She flitted her tongue along the underside of Seto's hardness, her other hand coming down to massage Seto's sac. "Where did you learn this?" He asked.

"I do not know." She replied honestly, having never done anything this obscene before, but it felt amazing. "Do you like it?" She inquired in mock innocence.

"Do not stop." He panted.

"As you say." And she began to circle the head of his hardness, dipping into the niche in the tip before sucking it back into her mouth again.

Suddenly, Athena felt one of Seto's long fingers slide across the lips of her womanhood, and she gave an abrupt gasp.

"God, you are wet." He murmured as his finger worked her, sliding across her slick opening, circling the nub of her passion. "Come here, I cannot wait." Seto commanded in a gruff tone of voice.

Athena crawled up Seto's body and positioned herself as she straddled Seto's hips. She guided the tip of Seto's manhood to her opening. Seto's hands gripped Athena's hips in an encouraging manner as she slowly pushed down, sliding Seto into her body inch by inch.

Athena bit her bottom lip as she became fully embedded with Seto inside her. Her eyes closed as she grew accustomed to the feel of him, waiting for her body to adjust.

"You are so tight." Seto commented, his throat working as he swallowed, savoring the slick, scorching heat of Athena's tight body. "Are you all right?"

"Yes." She replied, slowly begin to move experimentally, "Mmm, that is nice." She whispered before she leaned forward on her hands and began to move a little faster, feeling Seto thrust upward into her. "Ah, Seto." She moaned before she leaned forward to kiss him as she moved even faster, rocking her hips in circles and moving them from side to side every so often.

Seto rolled with Athena and pinned her under him. He sped up as he thrust, holding Athena close and kissing her deeply and heatedly. He could hear her muffled moans as her legs wrapped around his waist as she moved under him to meet his thrusts. Never in her life had she felt so alive and passionate.

Athena could hear Seto's quiet moans next to her ear as he closed in on completion. He adjusted his position and leaned up on his knees, grasping Athena's hips, and thrusting harder into her, one hand reaching between their bodies to let his thumb roll over her nub. The moment he touched her, her hand was over her mouth as she cried out in the ultimate pleasure.

Her warm, tight sheath clamped down around his hardness during her climax, and it triggered his own. He buried himself deeply inside her as he spilled his seed inside her body.

He fell across Athena, felt her hold him cradled to her, their bodies as close as they could possibly be. They breathed heavily, panting in each other's ear as they tried to collect themselves.

"Seto…that was amazing." Athena panted.

"Yes…it was…I have never felt like this before." Seto replied, as he moved so that he was not crushing her. They lay together, their bodies still joined as they tried to catch their breath.

"I need to make an honest woman of you." Seto whispered after a while.

Athena leaned back to look Seto in the face, "How do you mean?" She wondered, frowning.

"Athena, I would like it very much if you would be my wife." He said, his beautiful cobalt eyes dancing with his emotion.

Athena pressed her forehead against Seto's chest before he felt her head move in a nod, "Yes." She answered quietly.

Seto tilted her head back to give her a long, deep kiss.


	23. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters from the anime. I own everything else.  
**

**A/N: Here we go. The epilogue to Crimson Guardian, and then I'm off to continue Shattered Memories. So without any further ado, enjoy. ^_^  
**

* * *

**Epilogue**

Seto was sweating in nervousness as he held Athena's hand. Her grip tightened on his, almost crushing his hand in the process as she screamed in pain.

"Very good, Lady Henderson. Just breathe and push." Cecilia instructed.

"I am breathing! Get it out!" Athena cried out angrily.

Cecilia smiled at the frazzled young woman, finding her vocalized opinions refreshing and slightly amusing.

Athena grunted, gritting her teeth, and squeezing her eyes closed as she gave one more powerful push.

"I can see the head, my lady." Cecilia announced excitedly.

"Come now, love. It is almost over." Seto coaxed as her ran the fingers of his other hand through her sweat-dampened hair as he tried to make this easier on her. He ached with guilt that he was partially responsible for putting her in this sort of pain.

When Athena had gone into labor, Cecilia had tried to get Seto to leave the room for privacy and Athena's modesty, but Athena objected, saying that she would not have this child without her husband beside her. At the moment, Athena was probably regretting that decision and Seto was slightly worried for his manhood. From the way Athena was glaring at him, he feared he may become a eunuch once this was over.

Seto felt his wife grip his hand tighter than ever before, and he almost could swear that he heard his bones creek threateningly. Then, there was a stillness in the room, followed by a squealing cry that made Seto heart stop for a moment before it roared back to life furiously.

Cecilia beamed down at the newborn child in her arms and she carefully cut the umbilical cord and tied it off before she took the child to the wooden bucket of water to wash the blood off of the child's tiny, fragile body.

Once the baby was clean, Cecilia wrapped the baby in swaddling cloths before taking the child over to Seto.

"The child is a girl, Lord Henderson." Cecilia announced, offering the child to Seto.

Seto stared down at his daughter. She was so small, so sweet as she cooed while sucking on her thumb. He started to reach for her.

Athena was still attempting to catch her breath when she heard a loud thud coming from the foot of the bed.

"What was that?" Athena asked.

"My Lady, your husband has just fainted." Cecilia answered.

Athena's eyes widened as she tried to see her husband, "Did he hurt himself?" She wondered, caught between concern and amusement.

"Nay, he should be fine." Cecilia replied as she took the infant to her mother, "Here you are lady."

Atheba took the bundled child and cradled her to her chest as Cecilia set about cleaning Athena.

She had barely finished covering Athena when the door burst open and Raphael rushed into the room. He beamed proudly at the sight of Athena and her new child, and he stepped over Seto's unconscious form as he went to the bedside, "She is an angel, just as you are Athena." Raphael offered.

When Seto and Athena announced their engagement, no one was more thrilled than Raphael. Even Yugi's boisterous reaction and Rebecca's overjoyed squeal of congratulations had compared to Raphael's reaction. The older man had grabbed Athena in his arms and swung her around in acircle, laughing and tears of happiness streaming from his eyes. He had thanked her profusely and congratulated Seto, claiming, "You have done splendidly for yourself." Seto had been flustered but flattered all the same. Even Mokuba had congratulated the couple with a genuine smile and shook his cousin's hand as well.

Now, Raphael held out his hands in askance, and Athena nodded as Cecilia took the child from her mother and set her in the baron's arms. The older man cooed and showered the babe in affection and love all the while frowning in disapproval at Seto's form.

Athena smiled fondly at the scene, feeling her eyelids growing heavy from exhaustion. "Cecilia, wake me when the babe is wanting to be fed. Or once my husband is done with his swoon."

Cecilia chuckled lightly, "Of course my lady."

With that, Athena allowed herself to drift into a light slumber.

* * *

She felt lips touch her forehead, and her eyes slowly fluttered open as she looked up into Seto's smiling form.

"Did you hurt your head when you fell?" She asked dazedly.

Her husband frowned at her, "It was not funny. It was humiliating." he reprimanded.

"Ah, well, I suppose that is all right then." Athena replied smiling.

Seto grumbled in displeasure at Athena's teasing but his frown turned into a wide smile as he looked down at his wife. Athena looked down as well, wondering what felt so heavy on her chest. The pair gazed at their slumbering daughter in open adoration.

"She is beautiful." Athena whispered as she brought her daughter closer to her face so that she could press a kiss to the babe's head. She stirred a little her hands moving, searching for something. Athena understood and she lowered the blanket a little to bare one breast, to which the babe homes in on immediately and began suckling in earnest.

"She is very mild." Seto pointed out. "Aside from when she had come out, she has not cried." Seto remarked.

"You are not upset that she is not a boy like you had wanted?" She asked.

"No. Besides, there will be more opportunities to try for a son." Seto replied confidently.

"Oh, you believe so, hmm? Have you any idea how badly labor hurts?"Athena questioned.

"I have an idea." Seto grumbled holding up his hand to show it had bruises all around his hand. "However, we can wait until you feel ready to have another child." Seto assured.

Athena smiled warmly at her husband before leaning in to give him a kiss on the lips, "All right. If you think you can handle it."

Seto grumbled noisily and Athena laughed.

There was a slight knock at their bedchamber door, and Seto moved to answer while Athena covered herself. The baby had stopped nursing and was fast asleep.

"Athena, Yugi and Rebecca are here."

"Then let them in." Athena remarked, as though it was an obvious conclusion.

Yugi moved toward the bed slowly, his wide amethyst eyes locked on the tiny child in his guardian's arms, all while he supported Rebecca, who had a hand over her distended abdomen, only three months behind Athena.

"She is beautiful, Athena." Yugi gasped.

"Have you thought of a name yet?" Rebecca asked.

Athena looked up at Seto, and both nodded, "Serena Henderson." Seto answered.

"Oh, it is so pretty." Rebecca crooned excitedly.

Athena nodded, "Serena was my mother's name."

"Can I hold her?" Yugi asked.

Athena crooked her head in a motion to come closer, and carefully, she placed Serena in Yugi's arms, showing him how to support her head. Rebecca passed a hand over Serena's head, which had a wealth of thick, bushy chestnut hair that showed slight shades of blonde here and there. The child opened her eyes to reveal medium violet eyes, and Yugi melted.

"Our family is finally complete." He murmured as he carefully passed Serena to Rebecca, all while Seto kept a sharp eye on his daughter and Athena smiled at the scene before them.

"Yes." She agreed, slipping her hand into Seto's bruised one and brought his knuckles up to her lips and pressed a gentle kiss of apology to them. _I have finally found where I belong._

__Seto kissed Athena on the top of her head. _These people here now are my home. _


End file.
